Macron says 26 countries ready to send troops for Ukraine ceasefire

Macron says 26 countries ready to send troops for Ukraine ceasefire

Twenty-six Western allies have formally committed to deploying troops "by land, sea or air" to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire deal is agreed, Emmanuel Macron has said.

Ukraine's president joined France's Emmanuel Macron for the summit at the Élysée Palace

Security guarantees for Kyiv would come into force the moment the guns fells silent, the French leader said, after a summit of 35 countries dubbed the "Coalition of the Willing".

However, hopes of a deal to end the fighting have dimmed since Russia's Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump in Alaska last month. Prospects for direct talks between Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky look increasingly unlikely, even though Trump believes "we're going to get it done".

Trump spoke over the phone to Western leaders after Thursday's meeting, and Macron said US support for their "reassurance force" would be finalised in the coming days