Brussels, 23 February 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Top European leaders will be shuttling next week between Brussels, Kyiv, Paris, London and Washington in an effort to shore up embattled Ukraine and its leader and figure out European security policy under very changed circumstances.

On Monday, the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa will mark that solemn anniversary with a visit to Kyiv. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will also be there.

But on the other side of the Atlantic on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump about Ukraine, the French Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also wants to travel to Washington next week to meet with Trump, but possibly not on the same day as Macron. According to media reports, Starmer could be keen to present the concept for a peacekeeping force.

US talks with Russia upset Europeans

In light of Trump's solo effort to find a possible peace solution for Ukraine, Macron held crisis talks with European heads of state and prime ministers this past Monday and then spoke to Trump on the phone. The Paris meeting discussed the question of European peacekeeping forces to secure a possible ceasefire.

The newspapers Times and Guardian reported that Britain and France were pushing ahead with discussions about a European force to secure a peace agreement in Ukraine. Such a force could include fewer than 30,000 troops, the newspapers wrote, citing military sources.

Security guarantees and troops under discussion

"We must succeed in building a system that guarantees Ukraine's security," said the French Foreign Ministry. "So this may eventually happen by sending troops, but at the moment that's not the issue."

The first step is to obtain a security guarantee scheme. This could also include rearming and re-equipping the Ukrainian army. It could also be about Ukraine's membership in NATO. Macron emphasized at the beginning of the week that it is not about sending troops to fight the war in Ukraine, the ministry said.