France, Germany and Poland have pledged to support Ukraine militarily against the Russian invasion for as long as it takes while they and other western powers work on issue of “security guarantees” aimed at shoring up Ukraine’s defences and assuring its sovereign future.

President Emmanuel Macron of France, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish president Andrzej Duda met at the élysée Palace in Paris on Monday evening and sought to project unity in support of Ukraine as it embarks on its long-waited counteroffensive against Russian forces.

But they provided little detail on the intense negotiations now happening among Ukraine’s western backers on what sort of security guarantees they would provide once the war ends, nor whether Ukraine would be given a firm timetable to join Nato.