Editor’s note: This story is being updated.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv on Aug. 22 and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak reported.
Rutte’s visit comes days after a high-level meeting in Washington between Zelensky, U.S. President Donald Trump, and European partners aimed at securing security guarantees for Ukraine.
“We are now working together — Ukraine, the Europeans, the United States — to make sure that these security guarantees are of such a level that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sitting in Moscow will never try to attack Ukraine again,” the NATO chief said at a press conference.
Bloomberg reported on Aug. 19 that the package of security guarantees for Ukraine might be finalized this week. European officials have reportedly discussed sending British and French troops to Ukraine, along with contingents from roughly 10 other countries.
According to Rutte, discussions about deploying foreign troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees are ongoing, but “it is too early to say what will be the outcome.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Aug. 18 that guarantees would not involve NATO membership but instead rely on a strong Ukrainian army backed by commitments from the Coalition of the Willing, which includes over 30 countries.
European officials told the Kyiv Independent on Aug. 19 that a series of meetings among the countries participating in the Coalition of the Willing could take place in the coming days to work out the details.
Trump told Fox News on Aug. 19 that Washington could provide air support as part of the guarantees but ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops.
From The Kyiv Independent - News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe via this RSS feed