Sharp words from Washington on the ongoing war in Ukraine. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance says sanctions alone will not bring peace, and if America truly controlled Moscow’s decisions, the war would have ended months ago.
Speaking in an interview with NBC News, Vance explained that while the United States strongly supports a ceasefire, the Kremlin has no intention of stopping its military operations. He added, “If we did control Russia, this war would have been over seven months ago. But what we do believe is that the President of the United States still has powerful tools to apply pressure, and we intend to use them to push this conflict toward an end.”
The Vice President’s comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns that Vladimir Putin is trying to repeat the Crimea scenario — using pauses in the fighting to cement Russia’s grip on occupied territories. Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine will not surrender any land, pointing out that the country’s Constitution itself forbids such concessions.
European allies are backing that position. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ukraine and several European nations have drafted a plan for ending the war, which calls first for an unconditional Russian ceasefire, followed by negotiations. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský reiterated Prague’s support for Kyiv and flatly rejected Putin’s territorial demands.
Diplomatic efforts are also underway at the highest levels. After recent talks with President Zelensky and European leaders, President Donald Trump spoke directly with President Putin. Reports suggest Putin is open to a potential meeting with Zelensky, but only if it begins as a bilateral summit.
The White House has indicated that such a meeting could take place in the coming weeks. However, European leaders remain skeptical. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed doubts that Putin will follow through, while Finland’s president said he does not expect the summit to happen before the end of August.
Meanwhile, Moscow is already preparing explanations for why a meeting might be delayed or derailed.
For now, the future of peace talks remains uncertain, even as both sides dig in — Ukraine standing firm on its sovereignty, and Russia pressing ahead with its territorial ambitions.
Stay with us here on SNEWS TV for continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Reporting by Lisa Lomami.
