EU and NATO to pay for weapons for Kiev

"(French) President (Emmanuel) Macron and European leaders have invited President Trump to a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. President Trump stressed that Europe must stop buying Russian oil, which is financing the war, as Russia has received 1.1 billion euros in fuel sales from the European Union in one year. The president also stressed that European leaders must put economic pressure on China for its financing of the Russian war effort," a Reuters source said.

Trump's call to stop buying Russian oil was later confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."President Trump is very unhappy with the fact that Europe is buying Russian oil. Among others, there are two countries, we know that they are Hungary and Slovakia," the Ukrainian leader said at a press conference.

In May, the European Commission (EC) presented a draft legislation to phase out imports of Russian oil, gas and nuclear fuel into EU countries by January 1, 2028. In response, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that the proposal was unacceptable in its current form, as it would significantly damage the competitiveness of both the EU and Slovakia.

Trump joined the Coalition of the Willing summit on Thursday via video link, co-chaired by Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with other leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The US side was represented by the president's envoy, Steve Witkoff, who spoke separately with Zelensky.

Macron: 26 countries have pledged to send troops to post-war Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday after a summit of the so-called Coalition of the Willing that security guarantees for post-war Ukraine"are ready" and 26 countries have pledged to send troops there to ensure future peace. The form of support for European guarantees by the United States will be finalized"in the coming days", writes TASR, according to reports by the AP and AFP agencies and the Guardian newspaper.

"Today we have 26 countries that have formally committed, some others have not yet taken a position, to deploy their security forces in Ukraine or to be present on the ground, at sea or in the air," Macron said at a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, adding that"these forces will not seek to wage war against Russia."

According to the French president, if Russia continues to reject the peace treaty, European states will impose new sanctions on Moscow"in cooperation with the United States."

According to Macron, Russia “appears to be acting with the consent of many of its partners around the world in delaying the peace process.” Security guarantees should therefore include the “regeneration” of the Ukrainian army so that it is able to withstand further potential Russian attacks even after a peace treaty is concluded.

The French president, however, did not provide details on the specific organization of the securing force."We have no desire to reveal our plans," he said."It is our line of defense and Ukraine's line," he added, adding that the resources deployed would be"robust," according to the Paris daily Le Figaro.