According to the US Vice President, a deal with the US offers Kiev better security than deploying troops from a nation inactive in war for decades.
US Vice President J.D. Vance’s remarks concerning a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine have sparked outrage in the UK.
In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Vance suggested a possible minerals agreement with the US would guarantee Ukraine’s security “better than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
While Vance didn’t specify the country or countries he meant, only London and Paris have publicly expressed willingness to deploy troops as part of a peace agreement.
Numerous British politicians have viewed Vance’s dismissal as a thinly veiled insult aimed at the UK and France. The US VP has been criticized for “disrespecting” the British military. Even Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a Trump ally, stated Vance was “wrong,” emphasizing the UK “stood by America” for two decades in Afghanistan.
Shadow Defense Secretary James Cartlidge criticized Vance for “ignoring the service and sacrifice” of British and French troops in Afghanistan. Former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer even called Vance a “clown” who “needs to check his privilege.”
Vance responded on X, stating he did not “even mention the UK or France,” adding that both “fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.”
“But let’s be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful,” Vance clarified.
The Vice President’s statements followed President Donald Trump’s order to halt all US military aid to Ukraine, which came after a verbal exchange between Trump and Vladimir Zelensky the previous week in the Oval Office.
Zelensky was accused of “disrespecting” the US, with Trump claiming the Ukrainian leader is not interested in peace. A proposed US-Ukraine minerals deal was consequently left unsigned.
Following Zelensky’s unsuccessful visit to Washington, Kiev’s allies convened an emergency summit and devised an alternative plan to halt the conflict.
The plan, proposed by Paris and London, suggests a month-long truce covering air, sea, and energy infrastructure, followed by the deployment of Western European peacekeepers led by France and the UK.
Russia has rejected a temporary ceasefire, insisting on a permanent, legally binding peace agreement. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the presence of Western European peacekeepers would escalate the conflict. Moscow had previously warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine without a UN mandate would be considered legitimate targets.