THE US could send troops to Ukraine if Vladimir Putin doesn’t negotiate in good faith as JD Vance has taken a hard line stance ahead of peace talks.
The VP’s fighting words come after European nations rebuked the US on Thursday for beginning talks to end Russia’s invasion directly with the Kremlin but without including Ukraine.
Cover ImagesA tank is fired by Ukrainians in the snow[/caption]
GettyUkrainian marines fly drones[/caption]
ReutersVice President JD Vance meeting Nato bosses in Munich on Friday[/caption]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet Vance at the Munich Security Conference today as Trump demands a speedy end to the war.
Their meeting has now been postponed as Ukraine finalises a key partnership understanding with the US, the KyivPost reports.
The US was accused of rolling over to Russia before negotiations had even started by saying Ukraine couldn’t go back to its 2014 borders and that it wouldn’t be able to join Nato.
A land grab and stopping Nato’s expansion have long been tyrant Putin’s goals.
But the US has stiffened its stance on Friday with Vance saying it could send troops to Ukraine if Russia doesn’t negotiate in good faith, the Wall Street Journal reports.
He told the paper the US had levers at its disposal: “There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage.
“I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people.”
While American spies have been operating in Ukraine, the superpower’s soldiers have not officially been in the country.
The US has also walked back its Nato-joining ban on Ukraine saying Kyiv could still join the alliance.
Trump wants to end the war quickly with his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying that the US didn’t want to have troops in the country.
The US President said he expects Russian officials to be at the conference for talks despite Russia not being invited to Munich.
Trump said: “Ukraine is also invited, by the way, not sure exactly who’s going to be there from any country – but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine and from the United States.”
But Kyiv ruled out meeting with Russia at the conference and said the Ukrainian delegation needed to meet with America first.
One of the topics being negotiated as part of the peace will be how to prevent a third Russian invasion.
GettyUkrainian soldiers train outside of the Pokrovsk on Thursday[/caption]
GettyCivilians are evacuated from a town near the front line in eastern Ukraine[/caption]
America could still provide air support after a deal has been negotiated as part of Ukraine’s security guarantee, The Times reports.
Ukraine would ideally like to join Nato, but the US had previously made it clear that would not happen.
Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path to Nato” in a phone call with Zelensky, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
Starmer has also hinted that UK troops could be sent to Ukraine as part of a peace keeping force to guarantee Kyiv’s security.
On Thursday, the UK PM said Ukraine had to be part of talks about its future.
The talks also come just hours after Russia bombed the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with a drone.
The craft carried a “high-explosive warhead” and hit the sarcophagus early Friday morning of Reactor Four – the core which failed in the 1986 Soviet disaster.
ReutersVance met Nato boss Mark Rutte on Friday[/caption]
EPAKeir Starmer said Ukraine would join Nato[/caption]
Footage showed a thunderous explosion erupting from the dome early on Friday morning and a fire catching in the structure.
A large hole was left in the sarcophagus following the blast, with Ukrainian firefighters having to go into the structure to extinguish the blaze.
Zelensky slammed Russia as a “terrorist threat to the entire world” following the strike but the Kremlin has denied it was them.
On Thursday, The Kremlin appeared to be celebrating the prospect of winning the war and being handed Ukrainian land.
Putin’s top crony Dmitry Medvedev has hailed Trump as stepping back from “apocalypse” as he celebrated the peace talks.
The former Russian President – who is mad Vlad’s top ally – gloated in a post on social media as he continued to push Russia’s false narrative that either it wins or there will be nuclear war.
APDonald Trump’s VP JD Vance is in Munich for peace talks[/caption]
AFPVolodomyr Zelensky says Ukraine must be involved in any peace talks[/caption]
Former US President Joe Biden backed Ukraine and waited for Kyiv to lead peace negotiations.
Medvedev claimed that strategy was a was “a grave mistake, which nearly wiped humanity off the face of the earth”.
Zelensky said it was “not very pleasing” that Trump had spoke to Putin before him and that Ukraine could not accept any peace where it wasn’t involved with talks.
European leaders were left fuming that Ukraine and they had been sidelined.
EU foreign policy boss Kaja Kallas said: “Any quick fix is a dirty deal.”
French President Emmanual Macron warned a “peace that is a capitulation” would be “bad news for everyone”.
Trump’s peace plan
The exact details of Trump’s are yet to be confirmed, but some key planks have been released.
US Defence Secretary Keith Hegseth said it was “unrealistic” for Ukraine to return to its 2014 borders before Putin invaded Crimea.
Hegseth also confirmed on Wednesday that the US doesn’t want Ukraine to join Nato or for American troops to be involved in defending the country.
Ukrainian troops fire an artillery gun
East2WestRussia attacked the Chernobyl nuclear plant with a drone early on Friday morning[/caption]
Instead, European soldiers, including Brits, could then be used to guarantee Russia doesn’t invade again by policing a demilitarised zone.
A leaked peace plan said Ukraine could still become part of the EU in 2030 and that Trump would want the European bloc to drive Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction.
Ukrainians react
At the front, Vasyl Savyn, 54, company commander of the 56th Separate Mariupol brigade said soldiers were not ready to give up because Trump wants to.
He said: “In our company we don’t have any American weapons; we are independent from Trump’s decisions.
“There are only people left on the front line who want to fight and see the victory.
SuppliedVasyl Savyn said his company didn’t need American weapons to fight[/caption]
Eugene said he was ‘very concerned’ about a dealSupplied
“We may die here, but we will not give up.”
Eugen Sobchenko, 41, an engineer from Odessa, said he was “very concerned” about the deal.
He believes Trump wants to give Putin enough concessions from Ukraine to frame the war as a win.
Eugen said: “Ukraine will turn into his unconditional victory both for the domestic citizen and for many external partners/countries.
“I want to hope that this is not the case, but I have little hope, unfortunately. This is indirectly confirmed by the Rouble exchange rate and the Russian stock market.”
Another soldier, Eugen, from an Odessa anti-drone unit, said “nothing good will come out of” the deal for Ukraine.
Eugen said: “I have a strong feeling that we are being betrayed by our biggest ally. I don’t feel comfortable at all.
“Time will tell more, of course. I wish to be wrong.”
Trump and Putin’s relationship
Donald Trump has a history of positive and admiring comments about strongman Vladimir Putin.
They have long prompted criticism from his rivals that he is “soft on Russia”.
Trump rejects that, saying that no US president was ever tougher on Moscow and that a US president needs a relationship with the Russian leader.
Trump said he “got along great” with him during his first term where they met in person five times and nine publicly reported phone conversations.
Since the start of his second term, however, Trump has criticised Putin’s conduct of the “ridiculous” Ukraine war and said that the conflict is “destroying” Russia.
Trump has threatened more sanctions on Russia if it didn’t come to the negotiating table over Ukraine.
Putin, meanwhile, has sought to flatter
Trump chats with Putin in 2017
ReutersA Ukrainian artillery pick up truck fires rockets at Russia[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
