LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The European Union says this morning that Russia is suspected of blocking GPS navigation for a plane carrying the European commissioner's (ph) top leader yesterday. The plane landed safely. Complaints of Russian GPS jamming of European flights have been on the rise in recent years. That trip by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is part of efforts to fortify easternmost member states threatened by Moscow's ongoing war on Ukraine. European leaders are also working to come up with ways to help secure Ukraine, including the possibility of sending troops there if and when a peace deal can be struck.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Teri Schultz has been tracking the meetings and joins us from Brussels. Hi there, Teri.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: What's the plan?
SCHULTZ: Well, this is something European countries have been working on for many months in what they call the coalition of the willing. It's spearheaded by France and the U.K. And the latest headlines claiming plans are, quote, "pretty precise" come from an interview with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who's currently traveling through the EU countries on the bloc's eastern flank. Here's what she said about security guarantees for Ukraine when she was in Poland on Sunday.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: The first line of defense in Ukraine is a strong Ukrainian army. The second line of defense is a multinational group, the coalition of the willing, with the backstop of the Americans. And then the third and most important line of defense is, of course, our own defense posture.
SCHULTZ: So these coalition plans do involve sending European troops into Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached, and with significant logistical assistance from the U.S., which President Trump assured them he'd provide. But all of this planning is very hypothetical.
INSKEEP: Does this coalition have enough troops available, given that the United States would not participate?
SCHULTZ: Certainly not yet. It's very difficult for leaders to commit their armed forces, as you can imagine, to a dangerous mission that is still so undefined. They've got no idea of where a ceasefire line might be, what the troops would be used for and, again, what kind of U.S. contribution would be there to deter the Russians from attacking. But some countries have made clear they're less unwilling than others, and Estonia is among them. Here's Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.
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HANNO PEVKUR: We are ready to contribute immediately after the ceasefire, and then we have to see how the other allies will continue. We said that the company size unit is something we are considering, and we are ready to deploy. The U.S. has to be, of course, together with us. This is, I believe, clear for everyone.
SCHULTZ: French President Emmanuel Macron has called a meeting of the coalition in Paris on Thursday, and the U.S. doesn't usually participate in those talks.
INSKEEP: What the U.S. has done, of course, is speak directly with the Russians and with President Putin. President Trump has set a number of deadlines. He has then let the deadlines slide, and now Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is suggesting that today should be a deadline, a deadline for the Russians to get serious or face a tougher response. Do the Europeans have a response?
SCHULTZ: Well, this would, as you say, really be a deadline for President Trump to set, given that he's leading the efforts to bring the two sides in. And Ukraine has agreed to the talks. So European leaders are calling on Trump to put a price on Putin simply continuing to fight. And by the way, Steve, the European Union's own diplomatic mission in Kyiv was severely damaged in a Russian airstrike last week. So they're focused on what they can do - pushing through a 19th package of sanctions on Moscow and threatening to give some 200 billion euros worth of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, instead of just using the interest on those accounts, as is the case now, to pay for reconstruction. But it's really the White House that has the stick here, and European partners would very much like to see President Trump use it.
INSKEEP: Teri Schultz is in Brussels. Thanks so much.
SCHULTZ: Thank you, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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