In a wide-ranging interview, Donald Trump stated firmly that Ukraine would ‘not be a part of NATO’ but insisted European troops, including British forces, would be sent to deter any future Russian aggression.
Donald Trump has said Britain will put troops on the ground in Ukraine, less than 24 hours after suggesting American soldiers could also be deployed.
In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News today, the US president stated firmly that Ukraine would “not going to be a part of NATO” but insisted European troops, including British forces, would be sent to deter any future Russian aggression. “(Ukraine) are not going to be a part of NATO but we’ve got the European nations, so they’ll front-load it and they’ll have – some of them, France and Germany, a couple of them, the UK – they are going to have boots on the ground,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, to be honest. I think Putin is tired of it, I think they are all tired of it, but you never know. We are going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks, that I can tell you.” Trump also conceded that a peace deal might not be achievable, saying: “It’s possible he doesn’t want to make a deal.”
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The comments marked a dramatic shift in tone. Just a day earlier, the president, in front of Volodmyr Zelesnky, had floated the possibility that US troops could eventually be involved in Ukraine.
When asked if the US will have boots on the ground as part of a security guarantee for Ukraine, as he had indicated on Monday, Trump categorically denied that. “You have my assurance, and I am president,” he said.
His subsequent assertion that only European allies would send soldiers appeared designed to calm domestic concern over American military entanglement while shifting responsibility for Ukraine’s defence squarely onto Europe.
During the Fox News appearance, which came just hours after European leaders, including the Prime Minister, left the White House, Trump said he had already discussed Washington’s stance with US allies, as well as Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
He described conversations in which he suggested Europe should prepare for a different approach once he leaves office.
Asked if he had raised the issue of future security guarantees, Trump replied: “We talked about it. You know, it is what it is. I could say the same thing about them.
“Supposing you got a terrible leader in UK or France or, you know, we had Ursula (von der Leyen) there who runs the whole gamut, you know, we just made the biggest trade deal in the world with. She’s in charge of the Commission, the European Commission. And she’s the boss. She was there too.”
The president claimed his guests at the White House had praised his economic record, contrasting the current state of the US with what he described as national decline a year earlier.
“Our country has gone from a dead country one year ago. We’re the hottest country in the world, and every one of those people said it yesterday. They said, ‘in six months, you’ve made this the hottest country in the world,’” he said.
His comment came amid heightened anxiety in European capitals about Washington’s reliability as an ally.
NATO members have already increased defence spending and pledged long-term support for Kyiv, but Trump’s insistence that Ukraine will not join the alliance while encouraging European troop deployments underscores the fragile balance between deterrence and escalation.
His repeated suggestion that President Putin is “tired of it” was received with scepticism in diplomatic circles, given Russia’s sustained military campaign and reluctance to agree to a ceasefire.
Critics argue that such comments risk emboldening the Kremlin while unnerving Western partners.
By explicitly ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine and promising that Britain, France and Germany would provide troops instead of the US, Trump once again threw established alliance policy into confusion.
It came as Keir Starmer said European and US leaders are drawing up “robust” plans to defend Ukraine if a peace deal is reached. The Prime Minister today headed a meeting of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’, with members agreeing to look at more sanctions on Putin’s Russia.
A No10 spokesman said after today’s meeting: “The Prime Minister co-chaired a virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing this morning with over 30 international leaders to update on the talks in Washington last night.
“The Prime Minister began by reflecting on the constructive meeting, saying it was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. Turning to next steps, the Prime Minister outlined that Coalition of the Willing planning teams would meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.
“The leaders also discussed how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion. The Prime Minister said he looked forward to updating the group again soon, as further work progressed in the coming days and weeks.”