Dozens of NATO chiefs held a “great” meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday, just days after officials from some of the countries present returned from a summit in DC with US President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
NATO’s military committee chair, Italian Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said that 32 defense leaders from the alliance participated in the video call as the US-led diplomatic push to end the fighting has intensified in recent days.
“Great, candid discussion among #NATO Chiefs of Defence, today,” Dragone, the chair of wrote on X after the talks.
“And excellent update on the security environment from our new SACEUR, his first with us,” he added, in a nod to NATO’s new Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, General Alexus G. Grynkewich.
Dragone confirmed the alliance’s support for Kyiv but gave few details on the content of today’s meeting.
“We are united, and that unity was truly tangible today, as always,” he said. “Priority continues to be a just, credible, and durable peace.”
After Monday’s talks with Zelesnky, along with leaders from the UK, Germany, France, Italy, the EU, and NATO, Trump announced that, as part of any peace deal with Russia, Ukraine should abandon all hopes of entering the Alliance.
Instead, Trump said that individual NATO members, including the US, were welcome to develop bilateral security agreements to enforce a ceasefire or other form of peace deal – a suggestion already welcomed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
In an interview with right-leaning cable outlet Fox News on Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who was present at that day’s summit, said there was no agreement on deploying European troops to Ukraine, nor was Washington’s role in the process clearly defined.
“Over the last couple of months under the leadership of Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, and Emmanuel Macron, the French President, a group of now 30 countries, including Japan and Australia, are working on this concept of security guarantees,” Rutte said.
On Tuesday, Trump clarified that he would not send American soldiers to Ukraine – but might beef up the country’s air capabilities.
“You have my assurance,” Trump said in response to a question on Fox News about whether he could guarantee that US boots would not be on the ground. “You know, I’m president, and I’m just trying to stop people from being killed.”
Trump claimed Kyiv’s European partners, namely France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, would most likely “front-load” Ukraine’s security and be the countries committing troops to maintaining peace.
“When it comes to security, [the EU is] willing to put people on the ground,” he said.