Officials from the more than 30 Western countries of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” that support Kyiv in its war with Russia will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they continue to fine tune a peace proposal aimed at ending Europe’s largest and deadliest conflict since World War II.

There will also be a US presence at the meeting on January 6 with President Donald Trump’s chief negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner present in the French capital, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio is unlikely to come despite some hopes in European capitals that he would be attending as well.

European officials told RFE/RL that there is “a renewed sense of urgency” after a meeting over the weekend of national-security advisers and a gathering of military planners on January 5.

They hope the Paris gathering will ensure that the United States, Ukraine, and other European nations “are on the same page.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said he hopes to present “concrete commitments” to Ukraine’s security after the talks. The idea is that there should be clarity on the make-up and deployment of a peacekeeping force in the event of a cease-fire.

Some officials say the number that is floating around in various European capitals is that the force will consist of 15,000-20,000 troops, though some hope the level will be closer to 30,000 working under the motto “safe sea, sky and land.”

No military plans have been revealed but the bulk of the troops would come from France and the UK, which would lead the land and air component while Turkey has indicated that they would be in charge of securing transport lanes in the Black Sea.

However, there has been no clarity yet on how close a potential Coalition of the Willing force would be to the point of contact. Most European officials RFE/RL has been in contact with believe that the likely deployment would be in Western Ukraine to back-up and train Ukrainian troops.

Unresolved Questions

While the outlines of a Western presence in Ukraine are taking shape there are still several question marks to sort out, including the rules of engagement and US security guarantees.

One European diplomat admitted that one issue which still hasn’t been resolved is how to respond to a potential Russian attack. “We are essentially still discussing whether we will return fire or run,” he said.

When it comes to US security guarantees, both Brussels and Kyiv are increasingly optimistic that Washington will provide “a solid backstop” even though it is still not clear yet exactly what shape or form this will take.

European officials told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that there could be US boots on the ground in a non-combat role observing the cease-fire.

But the coalition also hopes Washington will still provide “back-office support” such as logistics and intelligence.

In November 2025, Trump pressed Zelenskyy to accept a 28-point peace proposal that many saw as heavily favoring Russia.

Ukraine and its European allies — led by Britain, France, and Germany — scrambled to develop a counterproposal, eventually putting forward a 20-point plan that took in more of Kyiv’s interests, especially on security guarantees and territorial integrity.

In his meetings with the Europeans, Zelenskyy is likely to press the need for security guarantees — from Europe but also in conjunction with desired solid assurances from the United States as well.

Thorny Issues

Ukraine’s chief negotiator Ruslan Umerov recently asserted that “most of the positions — 90 percent of the peace plan — have already been agreed, work continues on the details.”

These details, expected to be discussed in Paris, include the thorny issue of territorial concessions with Ukraine pushing the line of contact to be frozen or for the entire Donbas region to become a demilitarized zone.

Another issue is the ownership of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant with Kyiv dismissing the idea of Ukraine and Russia running it together, preferring that the United States steps in to sell energy from it to Moscow instead.

Few in Brussels, however, are thinking that Russia would agree on any of these issues with the assessment that the Kremlin still feels it is winning on the battlefield.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said several times in recent weeks that Moscow will achieve the goals of what it calls its “special military operation” either by agreement or force.

With that in mind, the EU is separately preparing a fresh round of sanctions, the 20th since the full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, which is likely to be presented to its member states for approval later in January.