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The meeting at NATO headquarters — the first between defense
ministers representing the so-called coalition of the willing —
comes after a visit to Kyiv last week by senior British and
French military officers. It's expected to work on fleshing out
an agreement reached at an earlier meeting between leaders.
As usual with coalition gatherings, the United States will not
take part, but the success of the coalition’s operation hinges
on U.S. backup with airpower or other military assistance.
However, the Trump administration has made no public commitment
that it will do so.
Amid that uncertainty and U.S. warnings that Europe must take
care of its own security and that of Ukraine in future, the
force is seen as a first test of the continent’s willingness to
defend itself and its interests.
Its make-up will depend on the nature of any peace agreement,
but the contingent is unlikely to be stationed at Ukraine's
border with Russia. It would be located further from the
ceasefire line, perhaps even outside Ukraine, and deploy to
counter any Russian attack.
Building a force big enough to act as a credible deterrent is
proving a considerable effort for nations that shrank their
militaries after the Cold War but are now rearming. U.K.
officials have talked about possibly 10,000 to 30,000 troops.
Countries are also reluctant to contribute personnel without
U.S. support.
Ukrainian government officials and military analysts have said
that Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military
offensive in Ukraine in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on
Kyiv and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in
ceasefire talks.
On Friday, representatives from around 50 nations will gather at
NATO to drum up military support for Ukraine. That meeting will
be chaired by Britain and Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth is not expected to take part.
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