Democracy Dies in Darkness
Opinion

Trump’s security promise for Ukraine could risk war with Russia

An Article 5-style guarantee may be more dangerous than it looks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Berlin on Dec. 15. (Markus Schreiber/AFP)
By
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Samuel Charap is distinguished chair in Russia and Eurasia Policy at Rand. Jennifer Kavanagh is a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities.

As the Trump administration pushes ahead with intensive negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, it has surprised even its harshest critics by reportedly putting on the table a set of security guarantees for Ukraine that are more far-reaching than anything proposed by prior administrations.

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