The coalition of the willing is growing. The attendance list for Sir Keir Starmer’s video conference was impressive. The United Kingdom is now at the head of a roll call of 26 nations in support of Ukraine. These included all the larger countries in Europe, including Italy – even if Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, repeated her refusal to put troops into Ukraine under any circumstances.
The European Union itself was represented, even if not all its members were. So was Nato. And there were the leaders of four countries outside Europe: Canada, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand. The coalition is also backed, Sir Keir said, by Japan. Canada was represented by Mark Carney, its new prime minister, who understands that his nation must stand up to Donald Trump as well as to Vladimir Putin if either threatens it.
Sir Keir claimed that “new commitments were put on the table this morning”, which is important for maintaining the sense that international support for Ukraine is strengthening, despite Mr Trump’s vacillations. The prime minister hinted that these new commitments included promises to put “troops on the ground and planes in the sky” in Ukraine to guarantee any peace deal – as well as pledges of higher defence spending for the “collective defence and security of Europe”.
An operational meeting of military personnel from all the countries of the coalition will take place on Thursday.
The real test has not come yet but so far, British diplomacy has been exceptional and Sir Keir’s leadership has been exemplary. He has been steady and collegiate in rallying support for Ukraine while remaining engaged with President Trump and his administration even while disagreeing with them.
The phrase “coalition of the willing” has been born of necessity, given that different countries have differing levels of commitment and, as Sir Keir said, “different capabilities”. But the formula has provided some flexibility, and means, somewhat to the surprise of some opponents of Brexit, that the UK has stepped into a leading role at a time when the EU has neither the political unity nor the defence capability to do so.
The aims of the coalition are the right ones. As Sir Keir said after today’s meeting: “Ukraine is the party of peace.” Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, repeated his willingness to agree a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. The support of the coalition – and, to be fair to Mr Trump, the resumption of US assistance – means that Ukraine can make this offer from a position of strength.
That strength must be maintained while Putin plays for time. If Mr Trump will not stand up to Putin, those nations that still believe in the principle of national self-determination and resisting aggression must do so. There will be a price to pay. Indeed, Mr Trump has precipitated this crisis by saying he will not pay it. But there would be a higher price to pay if Ukraine’s other allies threatened to abandon it too.
Putin will make peace in the end if the cost of war becomes too great for Russia to bear. Mr Trump’s alternative strategy, of forcing Ukraine to surrender, will only encourage Putin to keep fighting – and maybe not just in Ukraine.
Standing up to the Russian leader is the way to bring him to the table, and Sir Keir’s leadership of the coalition of the willing is the right way to put pressure on Putin to make peace.
