Trump guarantees no U.S. troops in Ukraine

President Donald Trump assured Fox News’ Fox & Friends during a Tuesday morning phone interview that no American troops would be deployed to defend Ukrainian borders. The promise came amid a concerted effort from Trump recently to hammer out a ceasefire agreement in the Russia-Ukraine war. The president guaranteed no U.S. troops in Ukraine after a string of Monday meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a cohort of European leaders at the White House. Security assurances for Ukraine remained a main topic of discussion since Trump’s face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week. It has been more than three years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Where do ceasefire negotiations stand? Trump called Putin Monday night to start scheduling a trilateral meeting with Zelenskyy, but it remained unclear Tuesday morning if or when that meeting will take place.

Zelenskyy described the White House summit as a major step forward in negotiations. Security guarantees for Ukraine will probably be formalized with allies within the next 10 days, Zelenskyy said Monday night. He added that the ongoing suggestions of swapping territories will be a matter for Zelenskyy and Putin only.

The United States also planned to purchase Ukrainian drones, the revenue from which will kickstart domestic production and exports, Zelenskyy added. Ukraine also planned to purchase billions of dollars' worth of American aircraft and air defense systems as part of the preliminary security agreement, he said. 

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more about Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House.