Image Source: Agencies

Aug 18, 2025: Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday.

Speaking at the talks on Friday at an Alaskan military base, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said that it was "game-changing" and "the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that." According to Witkoff, who appeared on CNN's "State of the Union," "We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5 like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO." Witkoff provided few specifics regarding the operation of this arrangement. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his deep-seated objection to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, a step that Kyiv has long sought.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and major European leaders meet with Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss bringing an end to the three and a half years of conflict, it was anticipated that this would be a significant topic. Trump tweeted on Sunday, "BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA." "KEEP TUNED!" On Sunday night, however, Trump seemed to put the onus on Zelenskyy to agree to concessions.

“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” he wrote. Keep in mind how it all began. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!”

Hammering out a plan for security guarantees:
Article 5, the heart of the 32-member transatlantic military alliance, says an armed attack against a member nation is considered an attack against them all.
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also attended the summit, the specifics of any security guarantees needed to be worked out at this week's talks. Ukraine and European allies have pushed the U.S. to provide that backstop in any peace agreement to deter future attacks by Moscow.

“How that’s constructed, what we call it, how it’s built, what guarantees are built into it that are enforceable, that’s what we’ll be talking about over the next few days with our partners,” Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.

However, it was not clear whether Trump had fully committed to providing such a guarantee. It would be "a huge concession," according to Rubio. The comments shed new light on what was discussed in Alaska. Despite the fact that both Trump and Putin claimed that their meeting was successful, U.S. officials had provided few details prior to Sunday.

Witkoff also said Russia had agreed to enact a law that it would not “go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.” On "Fox News Sunday," he stated, "The Russians agreed on enshrining legislative language that would prevent them from — or that they would attest to not attempting to take any further land from Ukraine after a peace deal, where they would attest to not violating any European borders." Europe welcomes US openness to security guarantees.

As a European coalition looks to set up a force to police any future peace in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised the news from the White House in a Brussels speech with Zelenskyy. She stated, "We welcome President Trump's willingness to contribute to Article 5-like security guarantees for Ukraine, and the "coalition of the willing," which includes the European Union, is prepared to do its share."

Zelenskyy acknowledged that much remained ambiguous, but thanked the United States for indicating its willingness to support such guarantees. He stated, "There are no details how it will work, and what America’s role will be, Europe's role will be, and what the EU can do and this is our main task: We need security to work in practice like Article 5 of NATO." He added, "There are no details how it will work." Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, said that security guarantees will be more important than whether they are labeled like Article 5 if they are to secure any peace agreement.

Macron stated at the White House meeting that European leaders will ask the United States to support their plans to deploy an allied force away from the front lines and provide Ukraine's armed forces with additional training and equipment. “We’ll show this to our American colleagues, and we’ll tell them, Right, we’re ready to do this and that, what are you prepared to do?" Macron said. “That’s the security guarantee.” defending Trump's decision to sign a peace deal instead of a ceasefire Witkoff and Rubio defended Trump’s decision to abandon a push for a ceasefire, arguing that the Republican president had pivoted toward a full peace agreement because so much progress had been made at the summit.

Witkoff stated, without going into detail, "We covered almost all the other issues necessary for a peace deal." “We began to see some moderation in the way they’re thinking about getting to a final peace deal.”

Rubio claimed, while appearing on a number of television news programs on Sunday that the absence of Ukraine made it impossible to reach a truce on Friday. “Now, ultimately, if there isn’t a peace agreement, if there isn’t an end of this war, the president’s been clear, there are going to be consequences,” Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week”. “But we’re trying to avoid that.”

Additionally, Rubio, Trump's national security adviser, expressed caution regarding the progress that had been made. He stated, "We're still a long way off." “We’re not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We’re not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made towards one.”

Land swaps are on the table:
Among the issues expected to dominate Monday’s meeting: What concessions Zelenskyy might accept on territory.

Following the summit, Trump claimed in talks with European allies that Putin had reiterated his desire for the Donbas's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, according to European officials. Those who were briefed were unsure whether Trump accepts that. Witkoff said the Russians have made clear they want territory as determined by legal boundaries instead of the front lines where territory has been seized.

"With regard to Donetsk and what would occur there, there is an important discussion that needs to be had. Additionally, specifics regarding that discussion will be provided on Monday, he stated. Zelenskyy has rejected Putin’s demands that Ukraine give up the Donbas region, which Russia has failed to take completely, as a condition for peace.

The Ukrainian leader said in Brussels that any land talks must be based on the current front lines, indicating that he will not give up land Russia hasn't taken. “The contact line is the best line for talking, and the Europeans support this,” he said. "Giving up territory or trading land is impossible under Ukraine's constitution."