President Donald Trump has stated that no U.S. forces will be deployed in Ukraine as part of a *potential security agreement* between Russia and Ukraine.
When questioned in a Fox News interview on Tuesday regarding assurances that there would be no “American boots on the ground” to defend the Ukrainian border with Russia, even beyond his presidency, Trump replied: “You have my assurance, and I’m president. ”
A day earlier, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, Trump had suggested the U.S. would assist in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security should a peace accord be reached between Kyiv and Moscow. “We will give them very good protection, very good security,” he remarked. His Tuesday comment, however, revealed a clear limitation to any such guarantee—no U.S. troops in Ukraine.
“I’m just trying to stop people from being killed… they’re losing 5-7,000 people a week in that ridiculous war,” **, without specifying if these figures referred to Ukraine, Russia, or both.
The President added that he telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Monday after his meeting with several European leaders to discuss a possible meeting between the Russian President and Zelensky, stating that if the meeting progressed favorably, he would step in to “wrap it up.”
“It takes two to tango, they have to have somewhat of a relationship, otherwise we’re just wasting time,” *he asserted*.
The Kremlin *reported* following Trump’s call with Putin, saying: “the parties discussed the idea of considering the possibility of increasing the level of both countries’ delegations involved in the direct talks.”
Moscow’s response has been interpreted as *a sign that it intends* to continue its invasion of Ukraine, as Putin seemingly brushed off Trump’s proposal for confirming a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
Trump met with Zelensky on Monday ahead of a broader meeting with several European leaders, stating that “When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help… they are the first line of defense,” the President said in reference to the European allies he later met with.
On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry declared its rejection of “any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO military contingents in Ukraine,” directly criticizing the United Kingdom and “certain European Nations” for suggesting such peacekeeping forces.
The U.K. and others have *expressed openness* to sending troops to Ukraine should it be necessary as part of a peace deal. On Tuesday British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer *commented that his discussions* on Monday resulted in breakthroughs for security guarantees without directly mentioning any sort of peacekeeping force.
