Ukraine has signaled it would be willing to freeze the frontlines of its war with Russia if European and American allies can provide firm security guarantees, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Monday, while urging tougher sanctions on Russian oil to pressure Moscow into negotiations.
Whitaker told Fox Business host Liz Claman that Kyiv "has proven and demonstrated that they’re willing to make a deal" and that "they’re willing to freeze the front line if they get security guarantees." He said a framework for a deal exists but needs allied follow-through, including measures to reduce Russia’s ability to finance the war.
Whitaker said sanctions targeting Russian energy sales — particularly oil exports to nations such as India, China and Brazil — could exploit emerging strains in the Russian economy and create the leverage to bring President Vladimir Putin to the table. "The money that’s paying for this war is coming from the sale of Russian oil," Whitaker said, adding that additional tariffs and sanctions would increase the "cost of doing business for Vladimir Putin."
The envoy acknowledged that any settlement would require agreement from both Kyiv and Moscow and said Moscow remains the principal obstacle to an end to the conflict. He praised efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to engage Putin directly and said allied pressure will be necessary to ensure any agreement holds.
Reports cited by some outlets indicate Ukrainian officials may be open to a negotiated settlement that formally acknowledges Russian control, but not sovereignty, over some occupied areas in eastern Ukraine. Those reports, which have not been confirmed by Kyiv, say such concessions might be part of a broader cease-fire and security package.
Ukrainian officials and some Western partners have discussed a variety of security guarantees to accompany a freeze, including a "NATO-like" arrangement that would rule out Ukrainian membership in the alliance while bringing international forces or guarantees to deter further Russian aggression. Last month, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff said Putin told Washington he would accept such guarantees, though the Kremlin publicly rejected the idea after President Trump’s August meeting with Putin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC this week that the proposed guarantees were unacceptable to Moscow, calling them a threat because Russia is an "enemy of NATO." The Kremlin has repeatedly rebuffed proposals that would involve European troops on Ukrainian soil.
Ukrainian officials have said they are discussing a combination of international troop deployments, enhanced Ukrainian air defenses, and long-term training and equipment commitments to ensure the country can deter future aggression. Andriy Yermak, a top advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, told The New York Post that at least 26 European nations have expressed readiness to contribute forces or other guarantees, describing talks about "boots and flags on the ground" as advanced, with locations and numbers discussed.
The United States has ruled out deploying U.S. ground forces to Ukraine but President Trump has indicated he might provide air support under some arrangements. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have also discussed sanctions mechanisms that could be triggered if Russia reinitiates hostilities after an agreement, Yermak said, as part of a system of penalties designed to deter renewed aggression.
Civilian casualties and strikes on populated areas have intensified the urgency around negotiations. Rights and humanitarian groups report high numbers of civilian deaths and widespread destruction in contested regions, a reality underscored by photographs and accounts from recent Russian aerial and artillery strikes.
Whitaker cautioned that Kyiv’s willingness alone will not end the war and reiterated the need for sustained allied pressure on Moscow. "This death and destruction we’re seeing needs to end," he said, adding that pressure must increase on Putin so both sides will have incentives to agree. He argued that Russian resistance to a deal is linked to its economic capacity to sustain the war and that disrupting revenue from energy exports could create "near-term cracks" in that capacity.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a cease-fire and broader settlement remain fluid, with public statements from Washington, Kyiv and European capitals indicating ongoing negotiations over the shape of security guarantees, the role of foreign troops or monitors, and the sanctions regime that would accompany a deal. The Kremlin has so far rejected key elements of proposed arrangements that would involve Western forces or oversight, and Russian officials have characterized some proposals as unacceptable threats to national security.
Any formal agreement would require detailed negotiation over territory, security arrangements, verification mechanisms and enforcement provisions, and would need to survive scrutiny in capitals across Europe and in partner states that have provided military and financial support to Ukraine. Kyiv officials did not immediately comment on Whitaker’s remarks Tuesday, and Russian officials continued to reiterate opposition to foreign military deployments on Ukrainian territory.
The course of diplomacy will depend on whether allied governments can coalesce around a package that balances Ukrainian security needs, Russian objections, and the political realities in Europe and U.S. domestic politics. Whitaker and other Western officials have framed economic pressure and a credible, multinational security architecture as central to any durable end to the fighting.