American defense officials have informed their European counterparts that the United States, as part of Ukraine's security guarantees, can provide the Western military with intelligence assets, command structures and key systems necessary to ensure air security, the Financial Times writes, citing sources.
This means a major shift in the position of the White House, the newspaper writes. European officials note that any decision on security guarantees is still far away, but one of the key obstacles has been overcome — Trump's unwillingness to help.
According to FT sources, Trump realized that achieving a truce in Ukraine and his own pursuit of the Nobel Prize required a certain American contribution to ensuring long-term peace. In addition, Europe's promise to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP has ensured the continent's trust in the White House, the FT's interlocutors add.
A draft plan for a security guarantee proposal may be submitted "soon," the sources say. However, it remains unclear which European countries are ready to send troops and whether Vladimir Putin will agree to this. The Kremlin has repeatedly called the presence of Western military personnel in Ukraine categorically unacceptable. meduza.io.
