DONALD Trump today ruled out American troops patrolling Ukraine — but said he was looking at air cover for European boots on the ground.

The US President publicly confirmed that Britain, France and Germany had committed manpower to police any deal with Russia but insisted his forces would play a back-seat role underwriting the peace.

His comments came as the White House confirmed Mr Trump’s team was negotiating a one-on-one showdown between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

Dashing Ukraine ambitions, Mr Trump warned the country “is not going to be a part of Nato”.

He said instead: “We’ve got the European nations, and they’ll front-load it. When it comes to security, the Europeans are willing to put people on the ground.

“We’re willing to help them with things — e

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