US, Nato planners start to craft Ukraine security guarantee options

US and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, US officials and sources told Reuters on Aug 19, following President Donald Trump’s pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia’s war.

Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Mr Trump’s promise during a summit on Aug 18 of security guarantees for Kyiv, but many questions remain unanswered.

Officials told Reuters that the Pentagon is carrying out planning exercises on the support Washington could offer beyond providing weapons.  

But they cautioned that it would take time for US and European planners to determine what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin.

One option was sending European forces to Ukraine but putting the US in charge of their command and control, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The sources added that the troops would not be under a Nato banner but operate under their own nations’ flags. 

The Pentagon and Nato did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the idea.

In a press briefing, the White House said that the United States could help coordinate a security guarantee for Ukraine.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has ruled out the deployment of troops from Nato countries to help secure a peace deal.

Mr Trump has publicly ruled out deploying US troops in Ukraine but appeared on Aug 19 to leave the door open to other US military involvement. 

In an interview with Fox News, he suggested Washington could provide air support to Ukraine.

“When it comes to security, (Europeans) are willing to put people on the ground, we’re willing to help them with things, especially, probably, ... by air because nobody has stuff we have, really they don’t have,” Mr Trump said. 

He did not provide further details. 

US air support could come in a variety of ways including providing more air defence systems to Ukraine and enforcing a no-fly zone with US fighter jets. 

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022, the US has shipped billions of dollars worth of weapons and munitions to Kyiv. 

The Trump administration briefly halted those weapons shipments, including after a contentious White House meeting between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in February and again in July. 

Shipments have resumed and Mr Trump has pledged to send weapons, primarily defensive ones, to help the war-torn country.  

Nato military chiefs will focus on Ukraine and the way forward when they meet virtually on Aug 20, a conference first reported by Reuters.

US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, who also oversees Nato operations in Europe, will brief the chiefs of defence on the Alaska meeting between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said US General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was expected to attend the meeting. 

The official added that Mr Caine would meet with some of his European counterparts in Washington on Aug 19 evening.

Mr Trump has pressed for a quick end to Europe's deadliest war in 80 years, and Kyiv and its allies have worried that he could seek to force an agreement on Russia's terms after he rolled out the red carpet for Mr Putin in Alaska.

Russia says it is engaged in a “special military operation” in Ukraine to protect its national security, claiming Nato’s eastward expansion and Western military support for Ukraine pose existential threats. Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab. REUTERS