Trump open to providing air support for Ukraine as security guarantee

U.S. President Donald Trump has ruled out deploying ground troops as part of security guarantees for Ukraine in a future peace agreement with Russia, but has suggested the possibility of participating in air support. In a phone interview with Fox News, Trump indicated that it will be European countries that take the lead in protecting the occupied nation in order to prevent a repeat of Russian attacks.

“You have my assurance [that no U.S. troops will be deployed],” Trump said in the interview on Tuesday, a day after the White House summit that brought together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and seven European leaders. In those talks, the U.S. president publicly signaled for the first time that the United States could become “involved” in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, and did not rule out the possibility of sending soldiers.

In his statements to Fox, the Republican gave more details about his plans for a future, peaceful Ukraine. In that context, Europe would lead efforts to protect the country invaded by Russia. The United States, for its part, could participate in an aerial deployment. “There’ll be some form of security. It can’t be NATO,” he said. “They’re willing to put people on the ground. We’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, if you could talk about it by air.”

Security guarantees for Ukraine have so far been one of the major unresolved issues in the run-up to a potential peace deal with Russia. Zelenskiy and European leaders are demanding some form of protection to prevent Moscow from repeating its aggression in the future. But Trump had systematically avoided committing to this, arguing that his version of security guarantees was the joint exploitation agreement for Ukraine’s natural resources signed with Kyiv this spring.

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