If US controls Russia, war to end seven months ago - US Vice President
Photo: US Vice President JD Vance (Getty Images)
Sanctions against Russia are unlikely to lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine. The Kremlin is deliberately continuing military operations for its own strategic reasons, US Vice President JD Vance says in an interview with NBC News.
In particular, JD Vance said that sanctions would definitely not lead to a ceasefire, as the Russians did not want a ceasefire and there were complex reasons for that.
Vice President explained that the US has, of course, supported a ceasefire, but does not control what the Russians do.
“If we did, the war would’ve been over seven months ago. What we do believe, though, is that we continue to have a lot of cards. The President of the United States has a lot of cards left to play to apply pressure to try to bring this conflict to a close, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Vance noted.
Russia seeks to seize Ukrainian territories
Not long ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is attempting to repeat the Crimea scenario, using a pause in the war to retain control over occupied territories.
The Ukrainian side is preparing to respond in order to prevent the division of the country. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine will not give up its territories, as the relevant provisions are even mentioned in the Constitution.
According to The Wall Street Journal, together with Ukraine, European countries have prepared a plan to end the war, which includes rejecting any Russian claims to Ukrainian lands.
The plan foresees a full ceasefire without conditions from the Kremlin first, followed by peace negotiations.
Czechia has supported Ukraine and rejected Putin’s demands. Details of the position of Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský are reported by RBC-Ukraine.
Zelenskyy-Putin negotiations
After meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders, President Trump called Putin.
The Russian President reportedly even agreed to meet Zelenskyy, but insisted that the first meeting take place in a bilateral format.
The American leader noted that the summit could take place within the coming weeks.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed doubts that Putin would dare to meet, a view shared by the President of Finland, who believes the summit will not take place before the end of August.
Meanwhile, Russia is already inventing explanations for why the meeting might not happen.
