International Glance
Twenty-six nations have pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land and sea and in the air, Emmanuel Macron said after a summit at which European leaders sought to pin down Donald Trump on the level of support he is willing to give Kyiv.
“The day the conflict stops, the security guarantees will be deployed,” the French president told a press conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris, standing alongside Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After the summit, Macron told reporters: “We have today 26 countries who have formally committed – some others have not yet taken a position – to deploy a ‘reassurance force’ troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea or in the air.”
The troops would not be deployed “on the frontline” but aim to “prevent any new major aggression”, Macron said.Macron initially said the 26 nations – which he did not name – would deploy to Ukraine. But he later said some countries would provide guarantees while remaining outside Ukraine, for example by helping to train and equip Kyiv’s forces. He did not say how many troops would be involved in the guarantees.
The United Arab Emirates has warned Israel that annexing the occupied West Bank would cross a "red line" and undermine the spirit of the Abraham Accords that normalised relations between the two countries.
IDF reservists were answering the latest call-up to invade Gaza City, but likely in smaller numbers and slower than in the past recruitments, an IDF briefing appeared to clarify on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is willing to fight to achieve all its objectives if Ukraine does not agree to a deal.
Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has been managing the war in Gaza for six months since the January ceasefire broke down in March and fighting resumed. Zamir took over from Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, who resigned in January and left his post in March.
Donald Trump took no apparent action at the passing of his latest deadline for Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He was “very disappointed” in the Russian ruler, and was planning on “doing something to help people live”, said the US president, without any specifics. He was speaking on the radio show of Scott Jennings, a US conservative pundit.
