Coalition of the Willing: Why Europe Delays Peace

Part one of a series of articles about the less-mentioned dimension of the Ukraine war.

The war in Ukraine is not only being fought in the trenches of Donbas and on the shores of the Sea of Azov; rather, a parallel scene, and perhaps a more decisive one, is unfolding in European capitals and halls of Western diplomacy. What takes place in this arena presents a different narrative from the well-known image of “Western humanitarian support.” In this context, a group of Western countries known as the “Coalition of the Willing” has played a central role; a coalition that field and analytical evidence show has, instead of facilitating the end of the war, become a factor in its continuation and even its escalation to a global level.

The “Coalition of the Willing” is a title that, since the first months of the expanded war between Russia and Ukraine, has been used for a group of Western countries, especially Britain and France at the top of them. These countries, by holding regular leaders’ meetings, have always emphasized their readiness for unconditional military and political support for Kyiv. But the main question is: is this coalition truly thinking of peace, or does it have another goal?

In the first writing of this series, we try, by examining the key actions and speeches of the members of this coalition, to reveal the hidden layers of their approach.

The most important sign of the nature of this coalition appears in one “absence”: the lack of any direct communication channel with Moscow. The Coalition of the Willing speaks of plans such as deployment of European forces in the territory of Ukraine, while these plans have already been declared by Russia as an unavoidable red line.

The combination of these two realities, meaning rejection of negotiation with the side of war and at the same time advancing demands that cause its anger, has no meaning other than adherence to the strategy of “war until the last Ukrainian,” a bitter slogan that has repeatedly been heard from analysts and even some Western officials. This statement is not only a political interpretation, but is also reflected in the statements of the leaders of this coalition.

At the Coalition of the Willing meeting of 24 February 2026, Emmanuel Macron, President of France, showed the realistic, or maybe pessimistic, face of Europe. According to the Italian newspaper LaPresse, Macron explicitly said that he is “simply very pessimistic” regarding achieving peace in the short term and turned the finger of accusation toward Moscow. LaPresse, exclusive partner of AP News Agency; Ukraine, Macron: “I am very doubtful about peace in the short term”.

But the subtle point is that such pessimism, from the language of one of the two main architects of the coalition, is more than field analysis; it shows that Europe is preparing the psychological ground of its public opinion for a long-term war; a war for which maybe no endpoint has been drawn.

If the speeches of Emmanuel Macron remain in the domain of political literature, Britain takes more practical steps; based on the official statement of the British government, dated 24 February 2026, the seventy-person headquarters of the “Multinational Force for Ukraine” is currently active and planning for deployment of British forces with a budget of more than 200 million pounds (equal to 270 million dollars) has entered the operational phase. Official statement of the British government: UK steps up support for Ukraine four years on from Putin’s full-scale invasion.

What separates this news from a theoretical plan is its concrete nature; its publication on the official website of the British government (gov.uk) shows that Europe has passed the slogan of “support” and has put its foot into the field of logistical planning and financial provision of a long-term military presence in Ukraine. This action can no longer be interpreted only within the framework of deterrence; it is a step toward a permanent proxy conflict.

In this context, the statements of Wolfgang Ischinger, the long-time head of the Munich Security Conference and former German ambassador to America, have deeper strategic content. He, who is always among the central figures in European security circles, in an interview with the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel in early February 2026, explicitly admitted that stopping the war in Ukraine is not in favor of Europe. DW; Ischinger: As long as Ukraine is at war, the danger to Europe remains small.

Ischinger argues that a ceasefire will allow Russia to rearrange its military power without concern for the Ukraine front, and create a more serious threat for NATO’s eastern flank. This explicit admission from a senior European strategist clearly shows that continuation of the conflict is not considered a disorder, but a “need of equations” for some European leaders.

Beyond the official narration of “defense of democracy,” deeper motivations of this approach must also be examined. The Ukraine war has become a geopolitical opportunity for Europe; an opportunity through which European leaders try to prove their position as an independent and effective actor against China, the United States, and Russia. In this equation, peace is sometimes sacrificed to the “game of being seen.”

On the other hand, the Coalition of the Willing uses the war as a lever to manage internal public opinion. The creation of the “Russian threat” and its exaggeration has enabled the support of increasing military budgets; an increase that under normal conditions would not be possible without strong social resistance. Thus, for European elites, war is not only a crisis, but also a tool for redesigning the military and political identity of the continent.

The Coalition of the Willing, beyond its official language, in practice presents the image of a “deterrent actor.” The lack of any communication channel with Moscow, insistence on initiatives inherently unacceptable for Russia, concrete military planning in Britain, Macron’s pessimism, and finally Ischinger’s statement about the “non-benefit of peace” for Europe-all together form a chain of evidence in which the coalition that claims peace becomes, in effect, the main obstacle in front of it.

This approach is rooted in calculations beyond the borders of Ukraine; calculations in which the high cost of war in human lives sometimes becomes lighter in the geopolitical balance of European elites.

^{The author’s views are their own and do not necessarily reflect the blog’s.}

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