US Vice President JD Vance warned Wednesday that Donald Trump was “growing incredibly impatient” with Moscow as Washington’s stance on Russia hardens after diplomatic efforts to resolve the war in Ukraine stalled.
Trump performed a stunning about-turn at the UN on Tuesday, suggesting that Ukraine could not only retake all of the territory it lost to Russia militarily, but take even more.
Trump “doesn’t feel like they’re putting enough on the table to end the war…If the Russians refuse to negotiate in good faith, I think it’s going to be very, very bad for their country,” Vance said in North Carolina.
In a meeting earlier Wednesday in New York, top US diplomat Marco Rubio apparently clashed with his Russian counterpart, calling for the “killing to stop” and demanding Moscow “take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov fired back and “stressed the unacceptability of the schemes promoted by Kyiv and some European capitals aimed at prolonging the conflict,” according to a readout of their conversation supplied by the Russian side.
Ukrainian President Voldodymyr Zelensky praised Trump following the US president’s unexpected turn against Russia, but cautioned that NATO alone could not underwrite his country’s security.
“Because international institutions are too weak, this madness continues. Even being part of the long-standing military alliance doesn’t automatically mean you are safe,” Zelensky told the UN General Assembly.
Zelensky said he had a “good meeting” with Trump, who has ruled out NATO membership for Kyiv and berated the Ukrainian leader at a February encounter at the White House before warming to him.
“Of course we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps and of course, we count on the United States,” Zelensky said.
Trump’s suggestion Tuesday that Kyiv could win, with support from the European Union and NATO, marked an extraordinary shift after months of saying Ukraine would not get back swaths of territory taken by Russia.
Trump said Ukraine could regain all its land and suggested, without elaborating, that Kyiv could “maybe even go further than that!”
The US leader’s comments marked his latest in a series of policy switches on Ukraine, and come just weeks after hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
– Zelensky warning –
Zelensky warned Wednesday that Europe could not afford to lose strategically located Moldova to Russian influence and let it follow Belarus and Georgia into Moscow’s orbit.
“Russia’s trying to do to Moldova what Iran once did to Lebanon and the global response again, (is) not enough. We have already lost Georgia in Europe…and for many, many years, Belarus has also been moving toward dependence on Russia. Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too,” he said at the UN General Assembly.
Moldova, a former Soviet republic, goes to the polls on Sunday with pro-EU President Maia Sandu facing a barrage of deep-fake videos and other disinformation linked to Russia.
Zelensky also sounded the alarm over the development of autonomous drones and unmanned aerial vehicles capable of shooting down other drones and targeting critical infrastructure.
“We are now living through the most destructive arms race in human history, because this time it includes artificial intelligence,” he said, adding that the only real security guarantees are “friends and weapons.”
“If the world can’t respond even to all threats, and if there is no strong platform for international security, will there be any peace left on earth?”
The wartime leader, who has a packed itinerary of meetings with world leaders while in New York for the UN’s signature diplomatic week, stressed that Ukraine had been forced to ramp up its military production.
“Ukraine doesn’t have the big fat missiles dictators love to show off in parades, but we do have drones that can fly up to 2,000, 3,000 kilometers,” he said.
“We had no choice but to build them to protect our right to life.”
gw/des