LONDON (AP) — European countries are stuck between a rock and a hard place as a coalition of countries meets in Paris on Thursday to discuss security guarantees for a postwar Ukraine.

The war is raging unabated, with no ceasefire in sight — and the crucial question of American involvement in ensuring Ukraine’s future security remains unresolved.

For months, the so-called “coalition of the willing” has been meeting to discuss aid for Ukraine, including sketching out plans for military support in the event of a ceasefire to deter future Russian aggression.

The coalition leaders — French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K.Prime Minister Keir Starmer — have insisted that any European “reassurance” force in Ukraine needs the backing of the United States. But while U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted his country will be involved, he has moved away from calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine and refrained from implementing tough additional economic measures to punish Moscow.

Although Trump said he is “disappointed” in Russian President Vladimir Putin and issued several threats to try to cajole him into negotiating an end to hostilities, none has worked. At a meeting with Putin in Alaska in August, Trump failed to persuade the Russian leader to stop fighting and has not yet managed to broker talks between Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

While Trump and European leaders met in Washington after the Alaska summit — and U.S., European and NATO military chiefs held discussions on support for Ukraine — little concrete detail has emerged on the security guarantees to deter Moscow from a future conflict.

Former military generals and experts suggest Europe is in a bind — not knowing the level of support the U.S. is prepared to provide the coalition, the nature of any ceasefire or if the U.S. will abide by commitments made. It’s also far from certain that Putin would agree to a cessation of hostilities, something Russian officials have invariably dismissed.

“Talking about detailed operational planning when you don’t actually have your mission is, quite frankly, impossible,” said Ed Arnold, an expert in European Security at the Royal United Services Institute in London and a former military planner.

Why Europeans believe a ceasefire is necessary

The “coalition of the willing” is a broad term for about 30 nations supporting Ukraine, but the so-called “reassurance force” that would provide security guarantees to Kyiv is a subset of that group.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that 26 of those countries — including the U.K. and France — have pledged to deploy troops as a part of that force once there is a ceasefire to deter Putin from attacking again.

There is “no suggestion” that any troops will be deployed without a ceasefire because it’s too risky, said François Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.

Despite Zelenskyy signaling his willingness to talk, a ceasefire agreement is not currently in the cards — not least because of the positions of the U.S. and Russian presidents.

At his Aug. 18 meeting with European leaders at the White House — three days after meeting Putin — Trump walked back his previous demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine and said he thought a peace agreement was preferable.

The comments marked a shift toward the Russian position from Trump and would allow Moscow to fight on in Ukraine while peace negotiations are underway.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later suggested an end to hostilities was even further away, stating that Moscow will not accept Zelenskyy’s signature on any peace agreement as Russia considers him to be an illegitimate president.

“If Putin doesn’t want a ceasefire — and if Trump doesn’t call for a ceasefire — what are the chances of a ceasefire happening?” asked Heisbourg.

What a European security guarantee for Ukraine could look like

Even if a ceasefire or peace agreement for Ukraine were implemented, it’s not clear it would be a sufficient deterrent to Putin and it would still be “very, very risky” for European nations to deploy troops, said Arnold at RUSI.

Such an operation hinges on the U.S. providing intelligence support and the deterrent effect of U.S. airpower in countries outside Ukraine.

The Western appetite to potentially shoot down Russian missiles violating a ceasefire or target launchers firing them from within Russia is “close to zero,” said Heisbourg.

Any response to a ceasefire violation, he said, would likely depend on “how many Western soldiers the Russians would have actually killed…and nobody wants to think about that too much in advance.”

In March, Starmer told allies that a force for Ukraine would need at least 10,000 troops, but that would potentially require around 30,000 troops when taking into account those on rotation and rest.

As a coalition leader, the U.K. should look at contributing a brigade of 5,000 soldiers which would become 15,000 when taking into account rest and rotation, said Arnold.

That figure would account for about 30% of the deployable capacity of the British Army, he said, and potentially create a “tricky” problem whereby the U.K. deploys more forces on behalf of non-NATO ally Ukraine than it does for NATO allies such as Estonia.

European officials have indicated that the troops could be involved in training Ukrainian soldiers and likely based away from the frontlines although the risk of Russian missile and drone strikes would remain high.

But there would be “zero credibility” if Western troops were put in various Ukrainian towns without a clear mission or purpose, said Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe.

“That will not impress the Russians at all,” he added.

US as a reliable partner

European leaders are also grappling with the question of whether to take Trump and his officials at their word while also eyeing the rise of populist parties — particularly in the U.K., France and Germany — which may not share the same commitment to Ukraine as current political leadership.

That means the future of any security guarantees for Kyiv could be extremely fragile.

There is “absolutely no guarantee” that Trump will abide by commitments made to European nations over Ukraine, said Arnold, pointing to Trump’s withdrawal from previous agreements, including the Paris climate agreement and Iran’s nuclear deal.

That means European nations cannot rely on him ordering U.S. jets into action in the event of a ceasefire violation because “at one time he may say yes, at another time he may say no,” Arnold said.

With NATO membership for Kyiv ruled out by Trump and a host of hurdles to overcome to implement security guarantees for Ukraine, European leaders may decide to navigate the situation by spending “a lot more money on weapons” for Kyiv, said Heisbourg.

Arnold agreed, adding that the best option could be to give Kyiv “loads of guns and loads of ammo.”

“There’s no easy way out,” he said. “None of the options, especially for the Europeans, are good.”

___

This version has corrected to say the European leaders meeting was three days after the Trump-Putin summit, not one day.

Madeline Halpert
US Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Since taking the helm at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in February, Kennedy has made a number of moves that have alarmed health experts and caused chaos at health agencies.

A vaccine sceptic, Kennedy has attempted to remake how the federal government regulates and recommends immunisations.

He fired every member of a panel of independent vaccine experts that issues recommendations for the shots, and replaced them with people who are more sceptical of vaccines.

He has attempted to narrow recommendations for who should get Covid-19 vaccines, excluding healthy children and pregnant women.

As an outbreak of measles became the worst in the US in decades, he continued to spread misinformation about the safety of the measles vaccine.

Recently, hundreds of HHS employees wrote a letter to Kennedy, accusing him of contributing to the harassment of health workers after a gunman fired 500 rounds at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta last month.

They said the misinformation he has spread has helped sow mistrust in public health officials.

Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91, the Armani Group announced on Thursday.

The designer is credited over his decades of practice with curating a quintessentially Italian aesthetic in his clothes, as well as taking Hollywood’s red carpets to new heights.

“Il Signor Armani, as he was always respectfully and admiringly called by employees and collaborators, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the Armani Group said in a statement, describing the founder as “a tireless driving force.”

“In this company, we have always felt like part of a family,” read a statement provided by the brand on behalf of his family and employees. “Today, with deep emotion, we feel the void left by the one who founded and nurtured this family with vision, passion, and dedication. But it is precisely in his spirit that we, the employees and the family members who have always worked alongside Mr. Armani, commit to protecting what he built and to carrying his company forward in his memory, with respect, responsibility, and love.”

In June 2025, Armani was not present to take his usual bow at the brand’s show during Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week, marking the first time in his career he had missed his own runway event. At the time, the company released a statement that he was “currently recovering at home” without specifying his health condition.

In the current luxury landscape, which is dominated by conglomerates such as Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and Gucci parent company Kering, Armani was one of the few designers to remain the sole shareholder of his company. As of yet, there is no obvious heir to the Armani business, which in 2024 was valued by analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence between 8 to 10 billion euros ($9.3 billion to $11.7 billion).

A string of celebrations for Armani’s 50th year in business have been planned to take place during Milan Fashion Week this month, including the unveiling of an exhibition at the Pinacoteca di Brera — the first at the museum to be dedicated to fashion — and a runway show at Palazzo Brera.

In August, Armani was featured in a cover story by the Financial Times’ supplement HTSI, where he discussed his continued dedication to the fashion industry, and his company, where he still oversees all creative direction. “I don’t know if I’d use the word workaholic, but hard work is certainly essential to success,” he said. “My only regret in life was spending too many hours working and not enough time with friends and family.”

Giorgio Armani, a star-studded legacy

Born in 1934, in the northern Italian town of Piacenza, Armani didn’t show a professional interest in fashion until 1957, after studying medicine and then a stint in the military, he got a job as a window dresser at the historic La Rinascente department store in Milan — a move that would begin his lifelong association with Italy’s fashion capital.

In 1964, designer Nino Cerruti took a chance on Armani, who was by then a buyer at La Rinascente, by giving him a job designing menswear. It was here that he first learned about unstructured jackets — suit jackets with the traditional lining and stiff padding removed to accentuate the wearer’s body — which he would later perfect and become famous for.

While working for Cerruti, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, an architect who would become his life and business partner. Galeotti persuaded Armani to set up his own business, and the two later founded the brand Giorgio Armani in 1975.

Their first menswear collection found success in the US: It was stocked at Barney’s New York in 1976, and the department store even produced a TV commercial introducing Armani to American shoppers (Barneys shut down in February 2020 after filing for bankruptcy). It was soon followed by a womenswear collection, which saw the brand debuting an androgynous look. (“I was the first to soften the image of men, and harden the image of women,” Armani later said.)

His jackets earned the attention of Hollywood. In 1980, Richard Gere famously wore an Armani suit in “American Gigolo,” turning it into a status symbol. Soon, dressing stars for the red carpet became another form of advertising for the brand. Many of the biggest celebrities of the day — Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sophia Loren, Jodie Foster, Sean Connery and Tina Turner, among others — were all pictured wearing its creations. This led to a fierce competition with the other big name of 1980s Italian fashion, Gianni Versace, whose dazzling style stood in stark contrast to Armani’s typically understated looks.

In 1985, Galeotti died from AIDS, leaving Armani as the company’s sole shareholder. Of his relationship with Galeotti, Armani told Vanity Fair in 2000: “Love is too reductive a term. It was a great complicity vis-à-vis life and the rest of the world.”

Over the years, Armani launched a popular diffusion line, Emporio Armani, as well as other successful spin-offs such as Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange and the home interiors brand Armani/Casa. In 2011, he opened a huge Armani complex occupying an entire block in downtown Milan. As well as offering products from various Armani ranges, including chocolates, flowers, jewelry and cosmetics, it also serves as a nightclub and luxury hotel. (This followed the opening of the Armani Hotel Dubai a year earlier in the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.)

A longtime sports fan, Armani bought Olimpia Milano, Italy’s most successful basketball team, in 2008. He then launched EA7, a sports apparel range inspired by the jersey number of Ukrainian soccer player Andriy Shevchenko, once a striker for AC Milan. Borrowing from that range’s aesthetic, he went on to design the Italian team’s uniforms for the London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.

Armani’s influence in fashion also extends to the present day: the timelessness and precision of his tailoring has led to a burgeoning secondhand market for vintage Armani designs. His pantsuits, which offered women a powerful and sophisticated alternative in the workplace and beyond, continue to be favored by stars, including Cate Blanchett who opted for a silk, two-piece suit by the label as she attended Wimbledon in 2025.

Armani’s many accolades include being named a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2021, one of the country’s highest honors, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. He was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, in 2002.