Donald Trump would be willing to send U.S. troops into Ukraine if it helps secure a deal to end Russia’s invasion, a senior official said, contradicting the president’s public position, which he again emphasized in an interview on Tuesday.
Speaking to Politico’s Playbook after Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, the unnamed official suggested there may not be a “red line” with regard to committing American boots on the ground.
“I think it just kind of remains to be seen. [Trump] would like the Europeans to step up,” the official said. “But I think if the last piece of the puzzle was for a period of time to be a part of a peacekeeping force, I think he would do it.”
However, the president gave “my assurance” that there would be no U.S. troops sent to defend Ukraine’s border, in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
“I‘m just trying to stop people from being killed,” Trump said. “They’re losing from 5,000 to 7,000 people a week in that ridiculous war that should have never happened.”
Trump, who vowed to end the now three-and-a-half-year war within 24 hours of returning to the White House, claimed a possible breakthrough after meeting Zelensky and other European leaders on Monday, just days after his flop summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Among Trump’s pledges and ideas was a plan to offer Ukraine multiple “security guarantees” as part of any peace deal, potentially including Kyiv buying about $90 billion in U.S. weapons. He is also pushing for a trilateral meeting with himself, Zelensky, and Putin in hopes of striking an agreement, something Zelensky said he is ready to attend.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that while there are no plans to allow Ukraine to join NATO, a step Russia fiercely opposes, there could be a separate pact offering Article 5-style protection, which considers an attack on one of the military alliance members as an attack on all of them, as a way of stopping Russia from invading Ukraine again.
“What we are discussing here is not NATO membership, what we are discussing here is Article 5-type security guarantees for Ukraine, and what exactly they will entail will now be more specifically discussed,” Rutte told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.
Article 5 protection is a key reason Ukraine has pushed for NATO membership. Moscow has long objected to NATO troops deploying to Ukraine even as part of a ceasefire deal.
Any move to send U.S. forces into Ukraine would almost certainly spark fury among Trump’s supporters and some GOP lawmakers, many of whom already strongly oppose sending a penny more of military aid to Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth even allegedly tried to halt the shipment of U.S. military aid to Ukraine on at least three occasions without approval from the White House, before all three decisions were overturned.
Trump, who is desperately shouting about wanting a Nobel Peace Prize, confirmed the U.S. will provide security assistance for Ukraine but offered few details.
“We’re going to be discussing it today, but we will give them very good protection, very good.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
