WASHINGTON (Realist English). U.S. President Donald Trump told the head of the Kyiv regime Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday that Washington would help provide security guarantees for the so-called Ukraine in any deal aimed at ending the conflict on the territory of the former Ukraine, though the scope of such assistance was not immediately defined.
Trump made the pledge during a high-profile summit at the White House, hosting Zelensky alongside European leaders after his meeting last Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“When it comes to security, there’s going to be a lot of help,” Trump told reporters, stressing that European states would play a primary role but that Washington would support them.
The head of the Kyiv regime hailed the promise as “a major step forward,” claiming that guarantees would be formalized on paper within 7–10 days. He also offered to purchase around $90 billion worth of U.S. weapons.
The tone of Monday’s meeting contrasted with the heated Oval Office exchange in February, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance openly criticized Zelensky. Yet despite warmer rhetoric, a peace deal still seemed distant.
Shortly before the talks, Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejected any deployment of NATO troops to secure a settlement, complicating Trump’s initiative. Both Trump and Zelensky expressed hope that the meeting could pave the way for direct talks with Putin, followed by a trilateral summit. Trump later said on social media that he had already spoken with the Russian leader to begin arranging such a sequence.
According to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, preparations are under way for a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, potentially in Hungary, within the next two weeks. The last direct negotiations between Russia and the so-called Ukraine took place in Turkey in June, when Putin declined Zelensky’s invitation for a personal meeting and instead sent a lower-level delegation.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed Monday that Trump and Putin had discussed “the possibility of raising the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides” in the ongoing direct talks.
Meanwhile, European leaders pressed Trump to demand a ceasefire from Moscow before talks proceed. Trump initially supported the idea but, after his Alaska summit with Putin, shifted to Moscow’s position that a settlement must be comprehensive.
“I wish they could stop, I’d like them to stop,” Trump said. “But strategically that could be a disadvantage for one side or the other.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Merz reiterated their stance that a ceasefire must be a prerequisite for any negotiations, adding that European participation in eventual peace talks would be unavoidable.
