U.S. and European officials have begun drafting a package of “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine that would underpin any agreement to end Russia’s three-and-a-half-year war, according to U.S. officials and people familiar with the talks. The effort follows President Donald Trump’s public pledge this week to help protect Kyiv as part of a potential peace deal he is trying to broker between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pentagon and European military planners are exploring several post-conflict options, Reuters reported. One scenario would place European forces inside Ukraine under their national flags but with U.S. command and control. Rough outlines discussed by European leaders on 19 August envisage contributions from roughly 10 countries, including the United Kingdom and France, with a contingent that could reach as many as 50,000 troops, people briefed on the plan said. While Trump has ruled out sending U.S. ground forces, he signalled Washington could provide air support and additional air-defence systems. Britain has already begun preparations to deploy a “reassurance force” and is dispatching Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin to Washington for detailed planning talks. NATO chiefs of defence are scheduled to meet virtually on Wednesday to refine the alliance’s role in the guarantees. Backers hope the security framework will open the way for the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy since 2019. Moscow has rejected the idea of foreign troops on Ukrainian soil, leaving negotiators to determine what arrangement would be militarily viable and politically acceptable to both sides.