Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the blueprint for international security guarantees intended to protect Ukraine after a cease-fire with Russia will be completed “in the coming days.” He told reporters that Ukrainian, U.S. and European negotiators have been working around the clock since a 18 August summit in Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump and seven European leaders, and that all outstanding technical issues are close to resolution. Zelenskyy is seeking commitments that mirror NATO’s Article 5, calling for clear obligations on military aid, air-defence coverage and maritime protection. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who visited Kyiv on 22 August, said the emerging plan will have two layers: long-term funding and force build-up for Ukraine’s armed forces, and legally binding pledges by the United States and European states to respond to future aggression. Washington has ruled out deploying U.S. ground troops, but Trump has left open the possibility of air support. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby told Politico that the U.S. role is likely to be limited, a stance echoed by Vice-President J.D. Vance. Canada has not excluded sending a peacekeeping contingent, while several European capitals are discussing their own contributions. Russia has warned that guarantees negotiated without its participation are “a road to nowhere.” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would oppose any arrangement that stationed NATO forces in Ukraine, insisting that any durable settlement must be reached “by consensus.”