NEW YORK, August 22. /TASS/. As part of future security guarantees for Ukraine, the United States is considering various options for air support, preferring the use of unmanned aerial vehicles rather than aircraft, CNN reported citing sources.

According to the sources, the military discussed a wide range of options this week, and aviation support was one of the main topics. While there is some concern in the administration of US President Donald Trump about sending American pilots for manned missions over Ukraine, there is a great openness to the idea of using drones.

US pilots’ observation flights over Ukraine are being considered as an interim option that will ensure high-resolution images from the front line without involving American fighter jets in airspace patrol missions.

Trump previously said that Ukraine's security guarantees cannot include protection from NATO but promised US support to Europe, especially in the air. He did not elaborate. He also noted that there will be no American boots on the ground in Ukraine while he remains president.

European politicians started to discuss possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine in the event of a settlement of the crisis after Vladimir Zelensky's meeting with Trump on Monday. Moscow opposes the presence of NATO military personnel in Ukraine, this position was reiterated by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the same day. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that providing security guarantees to Ukraine through "foreign military intervention in a part of the Ukrainian territory" would be unacceptable for Russia.