By ILLIA NOVIKOV and SAMUEL PETREQUIN, Related Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders met in Paris on Thursday with the U.S. envoy appointed by President Donald Trump to mediate peace talks, discussing safety ensures for the war-torn nation as allies search to make sure long-term navy assist and continued American backing as soon as the battle ends.
Zelenskyy held a closed-door assembly with Steve Witkoff, in accordance with presidential press secretary Serhii Nikiforov.
Witkoff was invited to take part within the so-called “coalition of the willing ” assembly to debate support for Ukraine, together with sketching out plans for navy assist within the occasion of a ceasefire within the Russia-Ukraine warfare to discourage future Russian aggression.
White Home Particular Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, shakes hand with France’s President Emmanuel Macron throughout a summit on Ukraine on the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Picture by way of AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who lead the group, have insisted that any European “reassurance” drive in Ukraine wants the backing of the USA.
Starmer’s workplace stated after the assembly that the British prime minister “emphasized that the group had an unbreakable pledge to Ukraine, with President Trump’s backing, and it was clear they now needed to go even further to apply pressure on (Russian president Vladimir) Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”
Starmer’s workplace additionally talked about a choice from the coalition to produce long-range missiles to Ukraine “to further bolster the country’s supplies.”
Macron stated forward of Thursday’s assembly that preparatory work on the safety ensures had been finished and will now be permitted at political stage. He didn’t present particulars.
“We Europeans are ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine and the Ukrainians on the day peace is signed,” Macron stated.
It’s unclear what members of the coalition are prepared to contribute, together with troops on the bottom.
Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of employees, stated Thursday after assembly Witkoff and different nationwide safety advisers that the safety ensures “must be strong and effective — in the air, at sea, on land and in cyberspace.”
Constructive indicators
In a coverage shift earlier this month, the U.S. despatched optimistic indicators over its readiness to assist safety ensures for Ukraine that resemble NATO’s collective protection mandate, Zelenskyy stated. It’s unclear what that assist would seem like in follow. Ukraine is hoping for continued U.S. intelligence sharing and air assist.
Some leaders took half in particular person within the Paris talks whereas others joined nearly. They had been set to talk with Trump over the cellphone after the assembly.
NATO Secretary-Basic Mark Rutte, who attended the assembly nearly, stated {that a} broad coalition of countries is required to assist Ukraine’s protection towards Russian aggression, but in addition to strengthen Europe to discourage additional navy motion by Moscow.
Citing European navy and intelligence officers who’ve warned of Russian plans to strike inside the decade different European nations, most of them within the navy alliance Rutte helms, he stated that “we have to make sure that our deterrence is such that they will never try, knowing that our reaction will be devastating.”
Rutte additionally referred to as for the world to “not be naive about Russia.”
“We know what Putin tries to do and and the evidence is there in Ukraine as we speak,” he stated.
In the meantime, in Ukraine, Russia fired 112 strike and decoy drones throughout the nation in a single day Thursday, in accordance with Ukraine’s Air Drive morning report. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 84 drones, the assertion stated.
Russia on Thursday introduced that it was expelling an Estonian diplomat in a tit-for-tat transfer after Estonia declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata final month.
Petrequin reported from London. Related Press reporters from throughout the globe contributed to this report.
Initially Revealed: September 4, 2025 at 8:49 AM EDT
