U.S. officials, following President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, announced a major concession: Moscow was willing to allow “NATO-like” security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a comprehensive peace deal. Ten days later, that commitment is looking empty, with Russia now demanding an effective veto over what those security guarantees would look like. The Kremlin has also drawn a red line on any potential involvement of foreign forces in Ukraine, effectively ruling out a security pact similar to NATO’s Article 5.
Following the Alaska summit, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said Russia had agreed the U.S. and Europe could “effectively offer Article 5-like language to cover a security guarantee.” However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has thrown that claim into question, saying any security guarantees that involved European forces in Ukraine were “absolutely unacceptable.” He has insisted that Russia and China should be included among the guarantors of Ukraine’s security, outlining a model similar to the U.S. Security Council, which would give Moscow veto power over deployments and other decisions.
Vice President Vance doubled down on Witkoff’s assessment during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” stating that the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict. He said that among those concessions, he said, was recognizing Russia could not install a puppet regime in Ukraine and “importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a willingness to deploy their troops inside Ukraine as part of a postwar security arrangement. Trump has said the U.S. is prepared to play a role in these guarantees, reportedly through air defenses and intelligence support. Ukraine has insisted on an ironclad security pact as part of any comprehensive peace agreement, as a deterrent against future Russian aggression.
