Europe Expected to Provide ‘Lion’s Share’ of Security Guarantees for Ukraine, Vance Says

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Aug. 20 that European nations will need to take the “lion’s share” of the burden of providing Ukraine with security guarantees as part of efforts to end the war with Russia, signaling the Trump administration’s intention to limit U.S.-backed military support for Kyiv moving forward.

Vance, speaking on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle” on Aug. 20, made the comment two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump in the White House while flanked by a team of European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Vance said he thinks the United States should no longer carry the burden of guaranteeing the majority of Ukraine’s security. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has provided Kyiv with $66.9 billion in military assistance, and $69.7 billion since Moscow’s initial incursion into Ukraine in 2014, according to a March fact sheet from the U.S. State Department.

“I think that [the United States] should be helpful if it’s necessary to stop the war and to stop the killing. But I think that we should expect, and the president certainly expects, Europe to play the leading role here,” Vance said.

“No matter what form this takes, the Europeans are going to have to take the lion’s share of the burden.”

During an Aug. 18 meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump said the United States would assist Europe with security guarantees for Ukraine.

“They want to give protection, and they feel very strongly about it, and we’ll help them out with that,” Trump said. “I think it’s very important to get the deal done.”

In a Truth Social post afterward, Trump said, “Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America.”

Mark Rutte, secretary-general of NATO, described this as a breakthrough in the ongoing talks with Washington.

“The fact that you have said that ‘I am willing to participate in security guarantees’ is a big step,” Rutte said.

Zelenskyy said Trump’s promise was “very important.”

While the extent of the United States’ involvement in coordinating with Europe to provide security for Ukraine was not immediately clear from the talks, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff had told CNN the day prior that the Trump administration had agreed to “Article 5-like protection” for Ukraine.

He said it was one of the primary reasons for Kyiv seeking membership in NATO.

Article 5 of the NATO Charter provides that if an ally is the “victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.”

Nathan Worcester, Ryan Morgan, and Reuters contributed to this report.