Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump during talks at the White House on August 18, 2025. Photo by Getty Images
Despite promises of security guarantees to Ukraine, the White House is stepping aside, shifting the burden to European allies. Instead of systematic diplomacy, US President Donald Trump is trusting a narrow circle of advisers, and Russia is using his special envoy Steve Wyckoff to impose its own conditions. Highlights from the analysis by Politico and WP
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After meetings in Alaska and Washington with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, US President Donald Trump is in no hurry to give clear security guarantees for Ukraine regarding the resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the evening of Tuesday, August 19, NATO leadership held a meeting dedicated to Ukraine. After it, the media, including Politico, emphasized that the US is going to play a minimal role in any security commitments for Ukraine.
More responsibility for Europe
On Monday, August 18, Trump said he was ready to send American troops to Ukraine. But the next day he backed down, suggesting he was more open to providing air support for European forces, writes Politico. On the same day, August 19, Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said at a meeting of NATO leaders that Europe would have to shoulder the burden of ensuring lasting peace in Ukraine.
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“There is already an understanding that it is Europe that will implement security guarantees on the ground,” a NATO diplomat familiar with the negotiations told Politico on condition of anonymity. “The US is not making any commitments.”
US European allies are skeptical of Elbridge Colby, Politico adds. He previously initiated a review of US ammunition stocks, which led to a temporary freeze on military aid to Ukraine. Colby has long insisted that European countries take more responsibility for defending the continent from Russia. The Pentagon explained that he presented at the NATO meeting the instructions of Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Possible talks between Russia and Ukraine, with the participation of the United States, begin a series of complex agreements on guarantees of security for Ukraine, which could require significant financial and military efforts, European officials told Politico on condition of anonymity. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has already informed the 32 member states of the Alliance about the progress of the discussions and called for the development of realistic plans that can be presented to political leaders. Military planning in Europe is being adjusted to any possible scenario, despite the fact that diplomacy continues in parallel.
The interests of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth were represented at NATO by Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. Photo Getty Images
Steve Witkoff's Failures
The situation with American diplomacy is also complicated by the US President's special envoy for the Middle East and Russia, Steve Witkoff. The Trump team is overestimating Russia's willingness to make concessions, writes WP. The US president has rejected the help of intelligence agencies and relied on a narrow circle of advisers, giving the main role in the negotiations to his friend, developer Witkoff.
“He’s never been involved in negotiations before,” James Rubin, a former adviser to Joe Biden’s Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, told WP. “But Witkoff has Trump’s trust. At the same time, the president himself has shown amateurism, thinking he can end this war in 24 hours.”
Trump expects a bilateral meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents to take place, and his team continues to be in contact with both sides, a White House official told WP on condition of anonymity. But Ukraine's European allies were left confused by the confusion following Witkoff's remarks. The Americans interpreted Putin's offer that he would stop Russian attacks on two regions of southern Ukraine as a proposal to withdraw troops, sources familiar with the talks told WP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Kremlin later clarified that it was ready to cease hostilities in these regions, but still demanded that Kyiv give up Donbas, without offering anything in return.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is negotiating with Vladimir Putin, but the Kremlin is exploiting his inexperience to push its own terms. Photo: Getty Images
Witkoff distorts Russia's position by focusing only on territorial issues and bypassing the Kremlin's key demands for demilitarization and Ukraine's withdrawal from NATO, writes WP. Witkoff continues to describe Trump as a “legendary negotiator” and to convince that he is capable of reaching an agreement with Putin.
Trump is relying on his instincts and personal relationship with Putin, WP adds, considering his friendship with him the basis for a future deal. And the Kremlin is using this desire to impose its own conditions on Washington and Kiev, former Trump national security adviser John Bolton tells WP.
So the talks are still in their early stages. “This is not a matter of one meeting in Alaska and one in Washington,” Thomas Graham, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told WP. “This is a long process, and we’ll see how far Trump can go.”
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