Trump says Europe will bear Ukraine’s security burden after peace talks

president Donald Trump European allies are expected to take responsibility on Monday, thereby providing certain security assurances for Ukraine to prevent Russian aggression, but the United States will also help them.

Trump’s comments are due to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders, Visited Washington, DC Peace negotiations are to be held to end the war in Ukraine just days after Trump meets with the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“President Putin agreed that Russia will accept Ukraine’s security guarantees. This is one of the key points we need to consider,” Trump said at a meeting with European leaders at the White House on Monday. “And, we will think about it on the table. And, like who will do what. Essentially, I’m optimistic that we can collectively reach an agreement to stop any aggression against Ukraine against Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy will attend the crucial Trump conference as the United States weighs Kyiv’s security assurances

“I think European countries will bear a lot of burdens,” Trump said. “We will help them, and we will be very safe. We also need to consider the current line of contact to discuss possible exchanges in the territory. This means war zones, war line centers. It’s obvious. In fact, it’s very sad, actually, to look at them and negotiate positions.”

Trump said on Sunday that Ukraine could end the war immediately if it agrees to ced Crimea to Russia and abandons bids for NATO membership. Meanwhile, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff also said on Sunday that Putin has agreed to allow the United States and other European allies to provide additional protection to Ukraine, similar to the protection included in NATO’s Article 5 common defense clause.

Zelenskyy arrives in Washington, DC for Trump meeting urging continued peace with Russia

Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Walk were in a meeting to end the Russian war at the White House in Washington on August 18, 2025. (Kevin Lamarck/Reuters)

Similarly, Trump said earlier on Monday that he did not rule out the possibility of potentially sending U.S. troops to Ukraine after peace talks to stop Russian aggression in support of other European allies to strengthen security in Ukraine. Although he avoids sharing specific details, Trump said the United States will “will help them too. We will be involved.”

Zelenskyy said that our support for security assurance is crucial to providing stability to Ukraine.

“The security of Ukraine depends on the United States and the leaders in our hearts who are with us,” Zelenskyy said on Monday.

“We talked about this and we’re going to talk more about security assurance,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s very important that the United States sends such a strong signal and is ready for security assurance.”

European leaders to join Trump-Zelensky meeting to show solidarity with Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives on August 18, 2025 to meet with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe is aware that it will assume most of the responsibilities associated with various security assurances – and acknowledged that protecting the security of each country is necessary.

“To build such a long peace for Ukraine and the continent as a whole, we do need security assurances,” Macron said. “And the first one is obviously a credible Ukrainian army. The second one is our own commitment in the decades to come. We all…you can make sure that Europeans have a fair share of Ukraine’s security assurances very clearly, but their own security is clearly safe in this case.”