Trump Vows No U.S. Boots On the Ground in Ukraine

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would not send American troops to Ukraine as part of any peace agreement with Russia, even as he reaffirmed Washington’s role in providing security guarantees to Kyiv once the war ends.

“You have my assurance, and I’m President,” Trump told Fox News in a morning interview, when pressed about whether there would be “boots on the ground” in Ukraine. He added that the U.S. could still play a role “by air, because there’s nobody that has the kind of stuff we have.”

The comments followed a day of intensive White House meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders, who rushed to Washington on Monday to discuss how to secure Ukraine after more than three years of war following Russia’s 2022 invasion. While the multilateral summit was marked by public displays of agreement, European leaders left with few details about how Trump intends to turn his push for a peace deal into reality.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday reinforced the President’s message, telling reporters that Trump had “definitively” ruled out deploying U.S. forces on Ukrainian soil. Air support, she said, remained “an option and a possibility.”

The question of postwar security guarantees has become the central challenge of Trump’s effort to end the conflict. Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer has floated the idea of an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine, ranging from a few hundred observers to a contingent of tens of thousands.

During Monday’s summit, Trump insisted that European nations would be “the first line of defense” for providing security guarantees for Ukraine, but that the U.S. would also contribute. “European nations are going to take a lot of the burden. We’re going to help them and we’re going to make it very secure,” he said.

Read more: How Putin Brushed Off Trump’s Latest Push for Peace in Ukraine

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said it rejects “any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO military contingents in Ukraine,” directly criticizing the United Kingdom and “certain European Nations” for suggesting such peace-keeping forces. The U.K. and others have previously committed to sending troops to Ukraine should it be necessary as part of a peace deal.

Zelensky left Washington without a formal agreement but said progress had been made. He cited plans for Ukraine to purchase $90 billion worth of American weapons through Europe as part of new security guarantees, with the United States agreeing to buy drones from Ukraine in return. 

Trump confirmed during his Fox News interview that he excused himself during Monday’s meetings to call President Vladimir Putin of Russia, though it is unclear if they discussed potential security guarantees for Ukraine. The two men spoke for 40 minutes, according to Kremlin officials, in what Moscow described as a “frank and very constructive” exchange.

On social media later that evening, Trump announced that he had begun “arrangements” for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky—a possibility long dismissed by both sides. “They’re the ones that have to call the shots,” Trump said on Fox News. “We’re 7,000 miles away, in all fairness.”

Still, the Kremlin has publicly downplayed the prospect of such a meeting. Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign policy aide, told Russian state media that senior negotiators would continue direct talks with Ukraine but offered no indication that Putin would meet with Zelensky himself.

Leavitt suggested Tuesday that a bilateral meeting remained a work in progress. “I can assure you that the Trump Administration is working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that meeting happen as we speak,” she said.

European officials, meanwhile, pressed Trump on the need for what they are now calling a truce, wary of using the term “ceasefire,” which Trump appears to dislike. They argued that an immediate pause in fighting could slow the mounting civilian death toll and create the conditions for a genuine peace agreement. Overnight, Russian forces launched hundreds of missiles and drones across Ukraine, killing at least 14 people and damaging energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said.

Trump, eager to deliver a swift settlement, has insisted that an agreement can be reached without a ceasefire.

President Donald Trump has said that no U.S. troops will be deployed in Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

When asked in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday what assurances he could give 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, while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, Trump suggested the U.S. would help guarantee Ukraine's security should a peace agreement be reached between Kyiv and Moscow. "We will give them very good protection, very good security,” he said. His comment on Tuesday revealed a limit 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,” Trump continued, without specifying if these figures referred to Ukraine, Russia, or both.

The President added that he called Russian President Vladimir Putin later on Monday after meeting with several European leaders to discuss a possible meeting between the Russian president and Zelensky, saying that should the meeting go well, 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,” said Trump.

The Kremlin issued a statement 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 has been accused by Ukraine and Europe of playing for time as it continues to press its advantage on the battlefield, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not rule out a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.

“We’re not refusing any kind of work format, neither bilateral nor trilateral. The president [Putin] has said that repeatedly,” he said in an interview with Russian state media Rossiya 24.

“Any contacts involving top leaders must be prepared with the utmost care,” said Lavrov, refraining from a commitment to a meeting.

Trump said during his meeting with Zelensky on Monday that Europe would be Ukraine's main protection in the event of a Russian attack: “When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help… they are the first line of defense.”

But Zelensky has repeatedly said U.S. security guarantees are essential to any peace deal. He said Tuesday that Washington’s meeting the previous day was a “significant step” to ending the war and ensuring Ukrainian security.

“We are already working on the concrete content of the security guarantees,” Zelensky said on X, adding that talks between leaders would continue on Tuesday to discuss the format of security measures.

On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it rejects “any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO military contingents in Ukraine,” directly criticizing the United Kingdom and “certain European Nations” for suggesting such peace-keeping forces.

The U.K. and others have previously committed to sending troops to Ukraine should it be necessary as part of a peace deal. On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that meetings on Monday resulted in breakthroughs for security guarantees without directly mentioning any sort of peace-keeping force.