US may send troops to Ukraine if Kremlin disrupts talks – Vance
Photo: AP Photo / Laurence Kesterson
If Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that would guarantee Kyiv's long-term independence, the United States will hit Russia with sanctions and possibly military action, US Vice President J.D. Vance said on February 13.
The Wall Street Journal reports this.
"Vance said that the option of deploying US troops to Ukraine if Moscow cannot negotiate in good faith remains 'on the table,' and spoke much more harshly than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Wednesday suggested that the US would not deploy troops," the WSJ publication says.
Vance also noted:
"There are economic instruments of influence; there are, of course, military instruments of influence that the US can use against Putin."
At the same time, he expressed the opinion that "the result will be an agreement that will shock many people."
The US vice president also stressed that Trump "is not going to go into the meeting with his eyes closed."
"He will say, 'Everything is on the table, let's make a deal,'" Vance said.
He noted that it was too early to talk about how much of Ukraine's territory might remain in Russian hands or what security guarantees the United States and other Western allies might offer Kyiv. He said those details would have to be worked out during peace talks.
"There are any number of formulations and configurations, but we really care about Ukraine having sovereign independence," Vance said.
According to him, the Trump administration will try to convince Putin that Russia will achieve more at the negotiating table than on the battlefield.
At the same time, the US vice president agreed that Trump could change his mind depending on how the talks unfold.
"President Trump could say, 'Look, we don't want this, we might not like this, but we're willing to bring this back to the negotiating table if the Russians don't good negotiating partners, or if there are things that are very important to the Ukrainians that we may want to take off the negotiating table," Vance said.
It should be noted that on February 14, Vance is scheduled to speak at the Munich Security Conference and meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to Trump, a meeting will be held within the framework of the Munich Security Conference with the participation of representatives of Ukraine and Russia.
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Moreover, French leader Emmanuel Macron announced the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine's territory, sparking a discussion among Ukraine's allies.
Later, France explained that it was not about directly sending troops to participate in hostilities. Some NATO countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Canada, said they were ready to consider such an opportunity.
In January of this year, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany is ready to consider participating in peacekeeping missions in Ukraine. Still, this issue will arise only when the appropriate time comes.
In turn, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that since Ukraine needs security guarantees until there is an invitation to join NATO, the proposal of the head of France regarding the presence of troops of other states on Ukrainian territory can be considered.
