Military commanders from the United States (U.S.) and some European countries have worked out military options for Ukraine, which they will now present to their national security advisers, the U.S. military announced on Thursday.
Officials dealt with post-war security guarantees for Ukraine after U.S. President Donald Trump promised that he would help protect that country as part of a possible peace agreement with Russia.
Meetings of the commanders of the armies of the U.S., Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom (UK), and Ukraine have been held in Washington since Tuesday.
Ukraine and its European allies were pleased with Trump’s promise during the summit on Monday, but many questions still remain unanswered.
Officials warned that it will take quite some time for U.S. and European planners to reach a solution that will be both militarily flexible and acceptable to Moscow.
One of the options is sending European forces to Ukraine, but they would be commanded by the U.S., sources said.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the possibility that the implementation of the peace agreement could be ensured by forces from NATO member states.
Trump has publicly excluded sending U.S. soldiers to Ukraine, but it seems that on Tuesday, he left the possibility open for some other form of military engagement.
Air support is possible in various forms, including sending anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine and the control of a no-fly zone.
French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared themselves in favor of deploying soldiers as part of the so-called coalition of the willing, and openness for their country’s participation was also signaled by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
