Camilla Jessen
Vice President J.D. Vance cautions that extending the conflict could lead to mass casualties and nuclear war.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance warned that extending the war in Ukraine for several more years could risk millions of lives and potentially escalate into a nuclear conflict.
“If this goes on for a few more years, millions of people could die, and it could escalate into a nuclear war,” Vance said in an interview with blogger Charlie Kirk.
He criticized mainstream narratives suggesting that a prolonged conflict would lead to a Ukrainian victory and a restoration of prewar borders, calling such expectations unrealistic.
Vance emphasized that President Donald Trump has tasked his administration with pressing for an end to the war through diplomatic means.
“Russia is offering its terms for a settlement, Ukraine is offering its terms, and the job of diplomacy is to try to bring those two sides together,” he said.
Vance added he is “more optimistic” about reaching a settlement now than he was two weeks or two months ago.
The White House echoed concerns about the ongoing stalemate, with Press Secretary Caroline Levitt saying to Reuters that Trump is increasingly frustrated with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the lack of progress.
Levitt stressed that both leaders must engage seriously in negotiations to bring the conflict to an end.
Trump has previously expressed skepticism about Putin’s commitment to peace and has warned of new banking and secondary sanctions against Russia if hostilities continue. He also urged Zelensky to pursue peace talks, warning that Ukraine could lose its entire territory if fighting drags on for another three years.
According to sources cited by Axios, Trump has privately acknowledged that negotiations have reached a critical impasse and, in mid-April, threatened to withdraw from the peace process if either side makes a resolution “extremely difficult.”