President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday that no American troops will be deployed to Ukraine, even after his presidency ends. This assurance came during an interview on Fox & Friends, where he emphasized his commitment to preventing further loss of life in the ongoing conflict with Russia. "You have my assurance," Trump said. "I’m just trying to stop people from being killed." He noted that casualties in the war have been significant, estimating losses of 5,000 to 7,000 people weekly.

Trump's comments followed a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, where he discussed the potential for a peacekeeping force involving European allies. He mentioned that while European leaders are prepared to send their troops, the U.S. could assist Ukraine in other ways, particularly through air support. "We’re willing to help them with things, especially probably, if you talk about by air, because there’s nobody has the kind of stuff we have," Trump added.

During the interview, Trump reiterated that Ukraine would not be joining NATO, a point he has made consistently as he seeks to negotiate a peace deal. He acknowledged the complexities of the peace talks, especially as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky are expected to meet one-on-one. "We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks, that I can tell you, and we’re going to see where it all goes. It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal," Trump said.

After his meeting with Zelensky, Trump reached out to Putin, stating he wanted to avoid any perceived disrespect to the Russian leader by making the call in front of European leaders. "I didn’t do it in front of them, I thought that would be disrespectful to President Putin," he explained.

Trump also emphasized that Zelensky must show flexibility in negotiations, particularly regarding the issue of Ukrainian territory captured by Russia. However, Zelensky has remained firm in his stance against ceding any land, which continues to be a significant hurdle in the peace discussions.