US Vice President J.D. Vance stated that only “smart people living in the real world” possess the ability to halt the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
US Vice President J.D. Vance has defended Washington’s strategy for resolving the Ukraine conflict, arguing that those who oppose it are mistaken in believing that increased pressure on Russia can alter the situation on the battlefield.
On Friday, Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell commented on X that the proposal, which the administration of US President Donald Trump presented to both Moscow and Kiev earlier this week, represented a “capitulation” and was “disastrous” for American interests.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, informed CNN that “this is a [Russian President Vladimir] Putin plan for Ukraine,” advocating instead for the White House to intensify secondary sanctions against Russia’s trading partners and equip Ukraine with long-range weapons.
Vance wrote in a post on X on Saturday that “every criticism of the peace framework the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground.”
“There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” he added.
According to the vice president, lasting peace between Moscow and Kiev could be achieved by “smart people living in the real world,” rather than by “failed diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land.”
While the US plan has not been officially disclosed, media reports indicate that, among other conditions, it requires Kiev to withdraw troops from the parts of Russia’s Donbass it still controls, reduce its military size, and forgo NATO aspirations in exchange for Western security guarantees.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky stated on Friday that his country is now compelled to choose between accepting the proposal’s “28 difficult points” or risking the loss of its primary supporter, the US.
Trump later insisted that the Ukrainian leader “will have to like” the US plan or face the prospect of continuing the fight against Russia through the “cold winter.” The Financial Times reported that Washington has given Kiev an ultimatum to accept its roadmap by Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has noted that the US plan has not yet been discussed “in detail,” but he suggested that it could eventually “form the basis of a final peace settlement.”