US Vice President JD Vance dismissed recent criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “absurd,” pushing back on claims that he had justified Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“I think it’s sort of absurd for Zelensky to tell the [American] government, which is currently keeping his entire government and war effort together, that we are somehow on the side of the Russians,” Vance said during a phone conversation with British news outlet UnHerd.
“That kind of rhetoric is certainly not productive.”
Zelensky, in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes program aired on Sunday, accused Vance of “somehow justifying” Moscow’s actions.
The Ukrainian leader said Russian narratives about the war appear to have taken hold in Washington.
“It seems to me that the vice president is somehow justifying [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s actions. I tried to explain, ‘You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,'” he added.
Vance rejected the charge, emphasizing his longstanding condemnation of Russia’s war, which began in 2022, stressing the importance of understanding both the strategic objectives of both sides.
“That doesn’t mean you morally support the Russian cause, or that you support the full-scale invasion,” he said.
“But you do have to try to understand what are their strategic red lines, in the same way that you have to try to understand what the Ukrainians are trying to get out of the conflict.”
US President Donald Trump, who has engaged both Moscow and Kyiv for settlement, on Monday said he believes there will be “some very good proposals very soon” to end the conflict.
Trump, Vance and Zelensky had an argument at the White House in February when the Ukrainian leader expressed doubt over the US approach of trying to the end the war through diplomacy.
‘NOT GOOD FOR EUROPE’
Vance also used the opportunity to underscore his administration’s longstanding frustration with what he views as European complacency on defense and democratic accountability.
“It’s not good for Europe to be the permanent security vassal of the US,” he said.
“We’re very frustrated — ‘we’ meaning me, the president, certainly the entire Trump administration — that European populations keep on crying out for more sensible economic and migration policies, and the leaders of Europe keep on going through these elections, and keep on offering the European peoples the opposite of what they seem to have voted for.”
Europe’s other blind spot, Vance continued, is security.
“The reality is — it’s blunt to say it, but it’s also true — that Europe’s entire security infrastructure, for my entire life, has been subsidized by the US.”
According to him, while countries like the UK, France, and Poland are “obvious exceptions,” most European nations today “don’t have militaries that can provide for their reasonable defense.”
“European leaders have radically underinvested in security, and that has to change,” Vance added.
He invoked former French leader Charles de Gaulle’s vision of European independence during the Cold War as a model. “De Gaulle loved the US, but he recognized — and I certainly recognize — that it’s not in Europe’s interest, and it’s not in America’s interest, for Europe to be a permanent security vassal of the US.”
He added: “I don’t think that Europe being more independent is bad for the US — it’s good for the US. Frankly, the British and the French were certainly right in their disagreements with Eisenhower about the Suez Canal.”
The “bottom line,” Vance concluded, “I don’t want the Europeans to just do whatever the Americans tell them to do. I don’t think it’s in their interest, and I don’t think it’s in our interests, either.”
TRADE PRIORITIES
Vance also touched on the prospect of new trade agreements. He confirmed that the UK is now “at the front of the queue” for a long-sought trade deal with Washington — despite ongoing tensions over Trump’s recent “reciprocal” tariff moves.
“We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government,” he said. “The president really loves the UK. He loved the queen. He admires and loves the king. It is a very important relationship.”
“There’s a real cultural affinity. And of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country,” Vance said. “So I think there’s a good chance we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries.”
He said other European nations may also reach deals, though the path could be tougher. “With the UK, we have a much more reciprocal relationship than we have with, say, Germany,” Vance said. “While we love the Germans, they are heavily dependent on exporting to the US but are pretty tough on a lot of American businesses that would like to export into Germany.”
The administration’s guiding principle will be “fairness,” he said. “I think it will lead to a lot of positive trade relationships with Europe. And again, we very much see Europe as our partner — but it has to be a strong partner, not a dependent one.”