Trump considers sending US private military companies to secure Ukraine peace deal, Telegraph reports
U.S. President Donald Trump is negotiating with European allies to send U.S. private military companies to help secure a potential peace deal in Ukraine, the Telegraph reported on Aug. 30, citing undisclosed sources.
The potential deal is an attempt to keep a pledge not to send the U.S. military to Ukraine, while also serving as a deterrent against potential future Russian aggression.
Since taking office, Trump has pledged to broker a swift peace deal in Ukraine while reducing the scope of U.S. involvement in the war.
The focus for such U.S. contractors appears to be on helping to build new defenses and securing U.S. business interests in Ukraine, such as those that the much-vaunted mineral deal aims to facilitate.
The deal in progress also entails the deployment of European soldiers in a buffer zone near the Russian border. Another 30,000 European soldiers may be deeper in Ukraine as a further deterrent force.
European soldiers would also likely take part by coming to western Ukraine to train Ukrainian soldiers. Turkey would participate in the deal as envisioned by providing a naval security force in the Black Sea, critical to Ukrainian exports like grain and sunflower oil, the Telegraph reported.
European countries have also been reportedly discussing an air policing mission that would gradually allow Ukraine to reopen its skies for commercial flight, starting with Lviv and other airports in the west of the country.
Discussions about resuming air travel have swirled since Ukraine closed its skies at the outbreak of the full-scale invasion in 2022, but no decisive steps have been taken to restore commercial flights.
Russia seems unlikely to sign off on any such security guarantee, as it has repeatedly ruled out the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal.
