Ukraine allies plan meeting of military chiefs next week – POLITICO

LONDON — Military chiefs from about 30 Kyiv allies will hold a fresh “operational planning meeting” in London on Thursday to game out how they would commit peacekeeping troops to a post-war Ukraine.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the British-French-led talks after he hosted a call Saturday morning with the leaders of Ukraine, 25 other allied nations, NATO, the EU and the European Council — but not the U.S.

Starmer, with French President Emmanuel Macron, is pulling together a “coalition of the willing” of allied nations to protect Ukraine after any peace deal. But major questions remain about what that will look like if a deal is signed without U.S. aerial intelligence and air cover, as the U.K. and French leaders are lobbying the White House to provide.