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President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the Ukrainian government to take in an unspecified number of people who are being deported from the U.S. but aren’t Ukrainian citizens, a new report claims.
Trump’s team asked Ukraine to take in the group in late January, despite the country not having a functional airport due to ongoing air strikes from Russia, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. It’s unclear how exactly Ukrainian officials responded, but Ukraine has not accepted any third-party nationals from the U.S.
There’s also no indication Kyiv seriously considered the proposal, the Post reports. Two Ukrainian officials even told the Post that the proposal never reached the highest levels of government.
The proposal came amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Since then, Congress has passed five bills providing aid to Ukraine, supplying the country with an estimated total of $175 billion, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
President Donald Trump speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Trump administration reportedly asked Ukraine to take in deported migrants despite the country’s ongoing war with Russia (Ukraine Foreign Affair Ministry)
The Trump administration has proposed similar deals involving migrants to several other countries, including Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador.
El Salvador has taken the U.S. up on the offer, with Trump even spending millions to have the country house deported Venezuelans accused of being gang members inside a notorious megaprison. This came after Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act in March to justify their deportation of the alleged Tren de Aragua gang members without hearings.
Since then, questions have surfaced about how much evidence the Trump administration had behind their claims. Even El Salvador’s president reportedly questioned Trump on whether the men deported to his country’s prison were actually gang members.
Meanwhile, tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine have been on the rise since Trump took office. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a chaotic Oval Office argument in February, but tensions have appeared to calm slightly after Ukraine granted the U.S. access to critical minerals.
However, a new report from Reuters also claims Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked military aid flights to Ukraine days after Trump took office without the administration knowing.
A verbal order halted 11 flights loaded with artillery shells and other weapons bound for Ukraine earlier this year. That order came from Hegseth’s office, sparking mass confusion in both Kyiv and Washington, D.C., according to Reuters. The flights resumed several days later after then-national security adviser Mike Waltz reportedly intervened.
The Independent has contacted the State Department and Department of Homeland Security for comment.