OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:18 AM – Wednesday, August 20, 2025
U.S. and NATO military officials are assessing potential security guarantees for Ukraine following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the two leaders discussed next steps toward ending Ukraine’s war with Russia.
Prior to Zelensky’s arrival on Monday, Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron.
During this gathering, President Trump was asked several times about post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine. However, the U.S. president has already ruled out the deployment of U.S. troops in Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal.
Nonetheless, Trump expressed that he might be willing to provide U.S. air support, as he suggested in an interview on the “Fox & Friends” program.
“When it comes to security, they’re [Europe] willing to put people on the ground,” Trump said. “We’re [U.S.] willing to help them with things, especially … by air, because nobody has the kind of stuff we have.”
Another option discussed on Monday was sending European forces to Ukraine under the command and control of the U.S., according to sources familiar with the deliberations. These troops would represent their own nations, not NATO.
Some 30 countries have signed up to the “Coalition of the Willing,” allying with Ukraine. The group initially discussed a contingent of around 30,000 troops in Ukraine, but moved onto a “security umbrella,” made up of smaller forces provided by the allied countries that would include air, sea, and training elements.
Zelensky later advocated for security assurances rooted in maintaining a robust Ukrainian military, a position endorsed by President Macron, who emphasized there should be “no limitations in numbers, capabilities, weapons.” The effort to establish safeguards against future Russian aggression will advance in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, Zelensky also noted: “We are already working on the concrete content of the security guarantees.”
NATO military leaders are scheduled to meet virtually on Wednesday to strategize further. They are to be briefed on last week’s Trump-Putin summit by U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, who also oversees NATO operations in Europe.
Trump stated that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin following his meetings with the foreign leaders, adding that the White House is working to finalize a date and venue for a Putin-Zelensky summit, to be followed by a trilateral meeting including Putin, Zelensky, and Trump.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will have a trilat, which would be the two presidents, plus myself,” Trump reported to Truth Social.
The U.S. president emphasized that “this was a very good early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years.”
Later on Wednesday, the Kremlin expressed a willingness to discuss a settlement with Ukraine, including the security guarantees promised by the U.S. and the UK. However, any talks that do not include Russia are a “road to nowhere,” Russian officials have argued.
Russia has continued its charge on Ukrainian territory since Putin’s historic summit with Trump, having initiated retaliatory air strikes on Ukraine on Tuesday night, which killed three civilians and injured several more, according to Ukrainian officials.
Nevertheless, Trump administration officials remain confident in the 47th president’s ability to help negotiate an end to the years-long war.
“The Only Leader in the world that can talk to both [Putin and Zelensky] and bring them to a meeting is Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States. He’s the only one,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News. “We should be proud that we have a president that’s made peace a priority.”
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