By Idrees Ali
(Reuters) -Military chiefs from the United States and a number of European countries have completed military options on Ukraine and will now present the options to their respective national security advisers, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
Reuters has previously reported that U.S. and European military planners have begun exploring post-conflict security guarantees for Ukraine, following President Donald Trump’s pledge to help protect the country under any deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“These options will be presented to each nation’s respective national security advisers for appropriate consideration in ongoing diplomatic efforts,” a U.S. military statement said.
The meetings between the chiefs of defense for the United States, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and Ukraine took place in Washington, D.C., between Tuesday and Thursday.
Reuters was first to report on the completion of the plans that will be presented to the national security advisers.
Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Trump’s promise during a summit on Monday of security guarantees for Kyiv, but many questions remain unanswered.
Officials have cautioned that it would take time for U.S. and European planners to determine what would be both militarily feasible and acceptable to the Kremlin.
One option was sending European forces to Ukraine but putting the U.S. in charge of their command and control, sources have told Reuters.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries to help secure a peace deal.
Trump has publicly ruled out deploying U.S. troops in Ukraine but on Tuesday appeared to leave the door open to other U.S. military involvement.
U.S. air support could come in a variety of ways, including providing more air defense systems to Ukraine and enforcing a no-fly zone with U.S. fighter jets.
Trump has pressed for a quick end to Europe’s deadliest war in 80 years, and Kyiv and its allies have worried he could seek to force an agreement on Russia’s terms after the president last week rolled out the red carpet for Putin.
Russia says it is engaged in a “special military operation” in Ukraine to protect its national security, claiming NATO’s eastward expansion and Western military support for Ukraine pose existential threats. Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali in Toronto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Shumaker)
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