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Ukraine war
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US, Nato planners start to craft Ukraine security guarantee options

Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump’s pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia’s war

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Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a drone strike on a residential area in Kharkiv on Monday. Photo: Le Pictorium via Zuma Press / dpa
Reuters

US and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, US officials and sources said on Tuesday, following US President Donald Trump’s pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia’s war.

Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump’s promise during a summit on Monday of security guarantees for Kyiv, but many questions remain unanswered.

Officials said that the Pentagon is carrying out planning exercises on the support Washington could offer beyond providing weapons.

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But they cautioned that it would take time for US and European planners to determine what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin.

One option was sending European forces to Ukraine but putting the US in charge of their command and control, two sources familiar with the matter said.

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The sources added that the troops would not be under a Nato banner but would operate under their own nations’ flags. The Pentagon and Nato did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the idea.

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