JD Vance is under fire for comments about European peacekeeping plan for Ukraine : NPR

Vice President Vance defended himself on Tuesday after suggesting that the proposal to place European peacekeepers in Ukraine was not enough to prevent Russia from violating again.

In an interview with Fox News, Vance said that a better “security guarantee” for Ukraine is for Kyiv to sign a proposed critical mineral trade with Washington.

“If you want a real security guarantee, and you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin doesn’t invade Ukraine again, the best security guarantee is to give Americans an economic upside down in Ukraine’s future.” “It’s a much better security guarantee than a troop of 20,000 people from some random countries that have not fought war in 30 or 40 years.”

The interview follows the White House meeting on Friday in conflict with Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky, where they were set to discuss and potentially sign a contract that would provide access to Ukraine’s key minerals. President Trump canceled his signature and accused Zelensky of “not being prepared for peace.”

On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Vance said the deal was still possible. “I think the president is still committed to the mineral trade. I think we’ve heard some positive things, but of course we haven’t heard of a signature from a friend in Ukrainian yet,” he told reporters.

Zelenskyy Posted on x The White House meeting “is not the way it was supposed to happen. It’s a shame it happened this way.”

“Ukraine is always ready to sign in any convenient form, in terms of minerals and security agreements,” he wrote Tuesday. “We see this agreement as a step towards improving security and solid security assurances, and we really hope that it works effectively.”

The Trump administration argues that the deal will give Ukraine more economic security and ensure interest in physical security against Russian aggression.

Repulsion from overseas allies

As soon as the Fox interview aired Monday night, Vance’s comments were circulating overseas across Europe. Current and former European leaders responded quickly as they saw them as swipes on the proposed British- and French-led peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.

James Cartridge, a conservative British MP who serves as the shadow secretary of defense for the opposition, called Vance’s comments “deeply disrespectful.”

“The UK and France are here [the U.S.’s] Helping to deploy thousands of staff in Afghanistan, including my own brothers and many council colleagues in the past and present. It is extremely rude to ignore such service and sacrifices.” Cartlide wrote on x.

British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have sought a more specific security “backstop” beyond the mineral trade.

Vance later took him to social media, where he called “absurd injustice,” claiming that he had mentioned Britain or France despite the efforts being led by the two countries.

“I don’t even mention Britain or France in the clip. Both have been bravely fighting the US over the past 20 years.” He wrote. “But let’s be direct. Many countries volunteering (personally or publicly) without battlefield experience or military equipment can’t do anything meaningful.”