File photo: US Vice President JD Vance (Picture credit: AP)
US Vice President JD Vance on Sunday said Russia must “wake up and accept reality” in its ongoing war against Ukraine, emphasising that the United States continues to push for peace.In an interview with Fox News, Vance said, “We want peace here”. “We have been actively pursuing peace from the very beginning of the administration, but the Russians have got to wake up and accept reality here”, he added. Vance attributed recent shifts in US policy and President Donald Trump’s confidence in Ukraine’s ability to reclaim territory to the mounting human and economic toll on Russia. “The Russian economy is in shambles. The Russians are not gaining much on the battlefield. It’s clearly time for them to listen to his passionate plea for them to come to the table and actually talk seriously about peace,” he said.Trump has called Russia a “paper tiger” and said Ukraine could reclaim its full territory with continued support. “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” he posted on Truth Social earlier. Vance highlighted the mounting casualties in the conflict, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, over 250,000 Russian soldiers and 60,000–100,000 Ukrainian troops have died. The UN reported more than 14,100 Ukrainian civilian deaths, while The Moscow Times cited over 620 Russian civilian fatalities, as per The Hill.“A lot of people are dying,” Vance said. “They don’t have a lot to show for it. How many more people are they willing to lose? How many more people are they willing to kill for very little, if any, gain in the military advantage on the ground there?”, he further added.The vice president also addressed Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles. While US officials are considering the request, Vance said President Trump will make the “final determination” on whether to approve the deal.Vance’s comments followed Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, where the US president expressed optimism about Ukraine’s position and the possibility of future trilateral negotiations with Russia.
