The 'Volunteers Coalition' for Ukraine will meet with defense ministers at NATO.

European countries are being cautious about sending troops to Ukraine as part of a security force without the support of the United States.

Defense ministers from 34 countries, called the "Coalition of Volunteers," will meet at NATO on Thursday to discuss what steps they can take to support Ukraine's defense in the event of a peace agreement with Russia. Ministers from 30 countries will participate in the meeting organized by France and the UK, focusing on operational discussions for establishing a security force for Ukraine as a deterrent against potential Russian aggression. The meeting comes after a delegation of French and British military officials visited Ukraine to discuss planning with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and the country’s military leaders. UK Defense Minister John Healey is expected to say at the meeting, "We cannot jeopardize peace by forgetting the war, so we must apply more pressure on Putin and increase our support for Ukraine both in today’s struggle and for peace. Our commitment is to empower Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression."

French President Emmanuel Macron, who chaired a leaders' summit on the issue at the end of last month, stated that the force could be deployed in Ukraine's 'strategic' cities and that military officials would try to determine which locations would be best during their visit to Ukraine. However, Macron noted that not all 33 delegations participating in the summit agreed to take part, and contributions would not be limited to Ukraine's air, land, and naval forces but would also include logistics and intelligence capabilities. For example, Poland and Greece have stated that they cannot provide troops to this force, citing threats from Belarus and Turkey, respectively. Some countries, like Italy, have another significant concern regarding US participation. Most countries in the coalition agree that they require "US support," alongside air defense and intelligence sharing, among the assistance they hope to receive from Washington. Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have met with US President Donald Trump and have been in regular contact with him to keep him informed about discussions at the European level since then. However, Washington has so far refused to join such a coalition. The US has also stepped back from the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which was chaired by Joe Biden's previous administration and is also known as the Ramstein group. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth is not expected to attend the next meeting of the group, which will take place on Friday and will include approximately 50 countries.