President Trump\u2019s Republican allies are putting pressure on him not to entangle the U.S. militarily in Ukraine after he signaled an openness to helping craft security guarantees for the embattled nation in its war against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump and the White House on Tuesday insisted the U.S. would not put boots on the ground<\/u><\/a> in Ukraine but floated the idea of providing air support<\/u><\/a> using U.S. pilots and warplanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That came after a meeting on Monday at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2002<\/u><\/a>and seven other European leaders, during which they discussed security guarantees for Kyiv in lieu of allowing it into NATO, a red line for Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the summit resulted in few specifics about what those security guarantees would entail, at one point a reporter asked Trump if the U.S. would send troops to Ukraine. Trump didn\u2019t answer directly but said the U.S. would \u201chelp them out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That, combined with special envoy Steve Witkoff\u2002<\/u><\/a>saying the U.S. could participate in \u201cArticle 5-like protections<\/u><\/a>\u201d for Ukraine, has set off alarm bells for some of Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerica First\u201d supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top allies are warning him not to go too far, citing a key MAGA tenet of not getting involved in any lengthy conflicts or \u201cforever wars.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d have to look at what the responsibilities would be. We don\u2019t want another war,\u201d Sen. Tommy Tuberville\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Ala.) told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. \u201cPeople in this country, they can\u2019t fathom that after 20 years of war over in the Middle East and then getting into another. I know the president\u2019s not into that, but we don\u2019t want anything to happen in terms of having to fight and lose more lives.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked how big of an ask that would be to constituents and voters, the Alabama senator \u2014 a top MAGA supporter \u2014 was blunt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt would be an impossible sell,\u201d said Tuberville, who is currently running to become governor of his home state. \u201cThe American people aren\u2019t going to go for it, I\u2019m just going to tell you that right now. The people in Alabama would be definitely against it. \u2026 I know President Trump\u2019s trying to do the right thing, but people in Europe have to take responsibility for this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPresident Trump enjoys taking over and trying to help, but he knows he can only go so far with all this. \u2026 [He\u2019s] trying to do what\u2019s right for us,\u201d Tuberville added. \u201cBut there\u2019s no appetite for war or us getting involved with this anyway with troops on the ground that would actually fight. We\u2019re talking about security, which might be different.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pressed during a phone interview with \u201cFox & Friends\u201d on Tuesday morning about any \u201cassurances\u201d he could make that there will not be any U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine as part of any deal, Trump sought to quell any eruption by supporters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, you have my assurance, and I\u2019m president,\u201d he said, suggesting that France, Germany and Great Britain might do so instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s latest remarks came a day after marathon meetings with the European cohort, during which Zelensky specifically referenced progress toward a deal on security guarantees. They are among the most prominent Ukrainian demands for any deal that may include ceding territory to the Russians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zelensky also noted that as part of a potential security guarantee agreement, Kyiv would purchase $90 billion in American weapons, including sophisticated systems for air-defense support and warplanes. The U.S. would buy Ukrainian drones in return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of Trump\u2019s top supporters almost immediately warned him against getting involved militarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight now, it\u2019s all predicated on American cash, American arms, and now they\u2019re going to need American involvement,\u201d former White House strategist and conservative firebrand Steve Bannon\u2002<\/u><\/a>said on his radio show Monday, adding that European leaders and Senate GOP hawks cannot be trusted on this issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bannon said the group is \u201ctrying to get America sucked into a deep involvement\u201d in the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese are tripwires,\u201d Bannon said. \u201cThis is where things go from regional conflicts to world wars.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The battle also marks the latest one in which Trump has had to straddle the concerns of key MAGA figures. He has had to manage similar situations in Iran after the U.S. struck against their nuclear capabilities and backed Israel\u2019s war against Hamas in Gaza. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jack Posobiec,<\/u><\/a> a right-wing activist and editor at Human Events, also pressed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt\u2002<\/u><\/a>about the security guarantees being discussed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe president understands the security guarantees are crucially important to ensure a lasting peace,\u201d Leavitt said at Tuesday\u2019s press briefing. \u201cHe has directed his national security team to coordinate with our friends in Europe, and also to continue to cooperate and discuss these matters with Ukraine and Russia as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ukrainians are seeking security guarantees akin to those afforded to NATO nations via Article 5, which Witkoff, Trump\u2019s envoy to the Middle East and Ukraine, floated over the weekend. That would potentially draw the U.S. into a larger conflict if Moscow attacked the peacekeeping effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia has vociferously objected<\/u><\/a> to security guarantees even though Trump indicated recently that Putin\u2002<\/u><\/a>would be open to the idea of a peacekeeping force by NATO nations in eastern Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe reiterate our longstanding position of unequivocally rejecting any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO military contingents in Ukraine, as this risks uncontrollable escalation with unpredictable consequences,\u201d said Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump and European leaders are expected to continue discussion in the coming days in a bid to keep up the momentum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to head up<\/u><\/a> a U.S.-European-Ukrainian commission to draft a proposal of potential security guarantees as part of a final accord, and Trump is seeking a meeting with both Putin and Zelensky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n