Putin agrees to ‘game-changing’ security guarantees for Ukraine, US envoy says

It comes as Trump prepares to meet Zelenskyy in Washington DC

Trump's special envoy revealed the news overnight to CNN as he explained the "agreements" that Trump had claimed had been made with the Russian leader during Friday's summit in Alaska.

Following the summit, Trump said there were “many points that we agreed on” while there were still “a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there.”

He said he would be “calling up … the various people that I think are appropriate,” before reaching any final agreement.

Now, Witkoff has explained that these agreements include three important points; that Crimea will not be returned to Ukraine, that Ukraine will not join Nato, and that Ukrainian allies will be allowed to offer security guarantees.

Speaking to CNN, he said: "We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato.

"It was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that."

He added that these agreements were made on Friday during the summit.

Putin has long rejected the idea of European allies putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, however, it is unknown to what extend such 'security guarantees' would involve physical personnel.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed his preference to join Nato to make sure Russian would never be able to invade Ukraine again.

He is set to meet with Trump today in Washington DC.

This all comes after the Ministry of Defence said that British personnel are ready to arrive in Ukraine just “days” after a scenario where Moscow and Kyiv agree to cease fighting.

This could potential embody what "Article 5-like protection" could look like.

Earlier this summer the UK Government backed efforts to set up a “Multinational Force Ukraine”, a military plan that would harden Ukraine’s defences once the conflict has simmered down.

The idea behind the move would be to ward off future aggressions from Russia.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: “Planning has continued on an enduring basis to ensure that a force can deploy in the days following the cessation of hostilities.”

The government said: “Along with securing Ukraine’s skies and supporting safer seas, the force is expected to regenerate land forces by providing logistics, armaments, and training expertise”.

It added that the move “will strengthen Ukraine’s path to peace and stability by supporting the regeneration of Ukraine’s own forces”.

Plans for the force were drafted last month following a meeting of military chiefs in Paris.