US President Donald Trump‘s security assurances for a post-conflict Kyiv notwithstanding, Ukraine and its European allies remain uncertain about what exactly Washington has in mind or how it intends to deliver on the security measures promised at Monday’s summit.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the Pentagon is looking to provide support to Ukraine and its European allies that goes beyond weapons’ provision. However, officials caution that, given the need to balance military feasibility with what would be acceptable to Moscow, doing so could take time.
A White House press briefing has indicated that the US could help coordinate a security guarantee for Ukraine. However, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has made clear that the Kremlin is unwilling to countenance the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal.
One approach would be to send European forces to Ukraine under US command and control, sources suggest, with the proviso that the troops would operate under their own national flags and not as a designated NATO force.
Trump himself has publicly ruled out deployment of US forces but seemed open to other US military involvement, telling Fox News on Tuesday that Washington could provide air support to Ukraine.
Some sources say that such a move could entail providing more air defence systems to Ukraine and enforcing a no-fly zone with US fighter jets.
Yesterday, NATO defence chiefs met online and were briefed by US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich about last week’s Alaska meeting between Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
