European officials are pushing the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to commit to ensuring Ukraine’s security, particularly by providing U.S. troops for a potential peacekeeping mission. This was reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources.
Allies generally agree with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. will need to contribute troops to any future peacekeeping forces in the country to make such efforts credible, according to people familiar with the matter.
European allies of Kyiv have said that the U.S. may support this idea, despite Trump’s initial reluctance. However, they emphasized that it is still too early to discuss in detail what the future peacekeeping forces in Ukraine would look like, the sources told the agency.
These latest efforts show that Europeans are trying to shape the new administration’s vision as Trump prepares to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
If European allies are forced to send troops on their own, it could undermine trust in security guarantees and create a rift within NATO, as this would signal the effective end of transatlantic cooperation within the Alliance, said a European official.
Trump’s skepticism about supporting Ukraine may have softened. According to a senior Western diplomat who spoke with Trump’s team on this issue, his team showed a willingness for the U.S. to focus on providing security guarantees to Ukraine, which they privately acknowledge as inevitable.
However, in exchange for these commitments, Trump may expect Europe to shoulder a larger share of the burden in ensuring the implementation of any potential deal.
According to the same diplomat, Europeans understand that the U.S. expects them to provide the bulk of the troops, as Trump sees the war in Ukraine as a European issue.
The president’s team also signaled that the new U.S. administration does not intend to take an active role in Ukraine’s reconstruction, suggesting that the private sector should handle this, said another senior diplomat, emphasizing that discussions are still ongoing.
