The claim appears in ‘Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump’, a book by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. The book, which was published on Tuesday (June 23), examines the first 14 months of US President Donald Trump’s second term, reported The New York Times.
According to the book cited by Hindustan Times, ten days after Trump’s inauguration, retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, whom he named as special presidential envoy for Russia and Ukraine, held a meeting in the Oval Office.
He reportedly presented a proposal titled “An America First Plan: Trump’s Historic Peace Deal for Russia-Ukraine War” during the discussion. The proposal suggested that while the United States would not formally recognize Russia’s claims over occupied Ukrainian territories, Ukraine would also refrain from attempting to regain those areas through military force.
During the discussion, Vance reportedly expressed concerns about deploying troops from NATO member countries. He argued that placing NATO forces in Ukraine could provoke Russia and increase the likelihood of drawing the United States deeper into the conflict.
Seeking alternatives, Vance asked whether non-European countries could contribute troops to a peacekeeping mission. According to the authors, Waltz suggested looking beyond Europe for support. Vance then reportedly mentioned Saudi Arabia and India as possible contributors.
The book states that Trump’s response was dismissive. “The Indians won’t do that. They won’t pay for something like that,” Trump remarked, as per a screenshot shared on X.
“INDIANS DON’T EVER PAY FOR ANYTHING”.
US Vice President JD Vance wanted India to send troops to Ukraine
Trump laughed at him.
“The Indians won’t do that. They won’t pay for something like that,” Trump told Vance
This snippet is from a White House meeting in early 2025 – From… pic.twitter.com/bOQi4MEzmC— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) June 23, 2026
So VP JD Vance Suggested Indian troops could be deployed in Ukraine as peace keeping mission & President Trump then quipped that PM MODI really liked him, but Indians dont ever pay for anything.
(This snippet is from a White House meeting in early 2025 – From Latest Book… pic.twitter.com/UsW7lCfjOh
— Navroop Singh (@TheNavroopSingh) June 23, 2026
The authors further claim that Trump referred to his good relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the conversation. While acknowledging their cordial ties, he said, “Prime Minister Modi really liked him and wanted to visit, but the Indians do not ever pay for anything.”
He also reportedly indicated that he would not object if countries such as Britain or France chose to send their own troops to Ukraine, provided that the US remained uninvolved.
In a separate chapter, the book references another occasion when Trump discussed India while speaking about tariffs. During a March 10 meeting of the Technology CEO Council, Trump claimed that India imposed tariffs of up to 175% and warned that companies choosing not to manufacture in the US could face higher import duties.
“Those who won’t build here are going to have massive tariffs to pay… not 20%, like 100%…We’re treated so unfairly. China tariffs us over 150 to 200%, India 175%,” the President said, according to the book.