Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said European countries could not guarantee Ukraine’s security without the US in an apparent response to Trump administration officials saying Europe should take the lead on the conflict.
“There are voices which say that Europe could offer security guarantees without the Americans, and I always say no,” Zelensky said in an interview with The Guardian published on Tuesday. “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees.”
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said in a recent interview that the Europeans “have to own this conflict going forward.” During the transition period, President Trump reportedly suggested that European troops should be deployed to Ukraine to enforce a potential future cease-fire.
Zelensky previously said that 200,000 Western troops should be deployed as peacekeepers, a deployment he said must include US soldiers. Russia has strongly rejected the idea of any peacekeeping force that’s outside of a UN mandate and said any foreign force would be considered a legitimate target.
Zelensky’s recent demands for security guarantees, which have included NATO membership or the supply of nuclear weapons, are all non-starters for talks with Moscow, and it’s unclear what the Trump administration will do to get him to make concessions.
The Ukrainian leader is due to meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference later this week. Vance had been a staunch opponent of the proxy war during his time in the Senate.
One idea from the Trump administration that Zelensky is onboard with is a deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued US support. Trump has announced that he will soon send Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine to work out a deal.
