French President Emmanuel Macron has outlined a French-British initiative to form a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine militarily post-ceasefire with Russia, emphasizing it won’t involve a “mass” troop deployment.

Speaking to French media ahead of a UK-hosted virtual summit on Saturday, Macron detailed potential missions, including stationing contingents at “key points” in Ukraine for training and defense support, signaling long-term commitment to Kyiv.

According to La Dépêche du Midi and Le Parisien, Macron envisioned nations contributing several thousand troops each, not vast numbers, to serve as a “guarantee of security.”

He noted interest from multiple European and non-European countries in joining once finalized, though his office couldn’t provide a recording of the Friday night remarks. Addressing sovereignty, he told Le Parisien, “Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for Allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not up to Russia to accept or not.”

The initiative follows Saturday’s two-hour online meeting, hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, involving around 30 leaders—including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and representatives from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, NATO, and the EU.

Starmer urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire, warning of increased allied pressure, and announced that military planning for a peacekeeping force would shift to an “operational phase.” A follow-up meeting of planners is set for Thursday in the UK.

This second summit in two weeks, expanded from the March 2 gathering, reflects efforts to bolster Ukraine amid shifting U.S. policy under President Donald Trump and to rally broader support for its future security. Macron’s blueprint underscores a pragmatic, coalition-driven approach to stabilize Ukraine without large-scale troop commitments.