The 'Volunteers Coalition' for Ukraine will meet with defense ministers at NATO.

European countries are behaving cautiously regarding sending troops to Ukraine as part of a security force without the support of the United States.

Defense ministers from the 34 countries, known as the "Coalition of Volunteers," will meet at NATO on Thursday to discuss what steps they could take to support Ukraine's defense in the event of a peace agreement with Russia. Ministers from 30 countries will participate in the meeting, organized by France and the UK, to engage in operational discussions about creating a security force for Ukraine as a deterrent against potential Russian aggression. The meeting follows a visit by a delegation of French and British military officials to Kyiv to discuss planning with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and the country's military leaders. UK Defense Minister John Healey is expected to say at the meeting, "We cannot risk peace by forgetting the war, so we must put more pressure on Putin and increase our support for Ukraine in both the current struggle and for peace. Our commitment is to strengthen Ukraine to protect its sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression." Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron, who presided over a leaders' summit on the issue, stated that the force could be deployed in Ukraine's 'strategic' cities and that military officials would try to determine the best locations during their visit to Ukraine. However, Macron mentioned that not all 33 delegations attending the summit agreed to participate and that contributions would not be limited to Ukraine's air, land, and naval forces, but would also include logistics and intelligence capabilities. For instance, Poland and Greece announced that they could not send troops to this force, citing threats from Belarus and Turkey, respectively. Some countries, like Italy, have significant reservations regarding the participation of the United States. Most of the countries in the coalition agree that they need "US support," along with air defense and intelligence sharing, among the assistance they hope to receive from Washington. Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Donald Trump and have since been in regular contact with him to update him on discussions at the European level. However, Washington has so far refused to join such a coalition. The US has also stepped back from the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which Joe Biden presided over during his previous administration and is also known as the Ramstein group. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth is not expected to attend the next meeting of the group, which will take place on Friday and will be attended by approximately 50 countries.