J.D. Vance’s VP nomination will send chills through Ukraine | Real Time Headlines

republican presidential candidate Donald TrumpThe Democrats’ choice of Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate on Tuesday morning will send shivers down the spines of Kyiv.

Vance, an Ohio Republican, is a staunch supporter of Trump’s “America First” policy vision and is generally ambivalent about U.S. intervention in foreign affairs. He also strongly opposes providing more aid to Ukraine.

Vance believes the United States should encourage Ukraine to reach a peace deal with Russia and that Kyiv should be prepared to cede land to invaders, adding to concerns for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he considers the possibility of another Trump presidency.

“Almost every war ends this way: when people negotiate, both sides give up something they don’t want to give up,” Vance told reporters in December. “Nobody can explain that to me,” he added. How it happened. “There were no territorial concessions compared to the 1991 borders. “

Vance, who served in the Marine Corps, also dismissed concerns that Ukraine’s territorial concessions – an unthinkable idea for Kiev – would not be enough for the Russian president. Vladimir Putin The rest of Europe may be at risk.

“If you look at the size of the Russian armed forces, if you look at what it would take to conquer all of Ukraine, let alone further west into Europe, I don’t think this man has shown any ability to be able to achieve these, these imperialist goals, assuming he With these goals,” Vance saidNBC News reported.

In February, Vance wrote an opinion piece for the Financial Times in which he said Europe was overly dependent on the United States and that the region should take on the responsibility of defending neighboring Ukraine.

He also echoed Trump’s view that NATO members in the region don’t spend enough on defense – a charge that analysts say has been valid in the past. However, the record is Getting better and better Nato said last week that 23 of its 32 allies have now achieved the defense spending target of 2% of gross domestic product.

“The United States has provided security for Europe for too long,” Vance wrote in the Financial Times.

“With the U.S. defense budget approaching $1 trillion a year, we should be spending that money in Europe No Defense spending is what it is: an implicit tax on the American people to keep Europe safe.

“Nothing in recent memory has demonstrated this more clearly than the war in Ukraine,” he said, adding that the United States “is being asked to fill this void at great cost to its own citizens.”

The aid was finally passed in April, This provides Ukraine with a lifeline as Russia begins a new offensive in the country’s northeast. Since then, as aid has trickled down to the front lines, Ukraine has continued to ask international partners for more aid, air defense systems and fighter jets to help it turn the tide of the war.

However, such a prospect remains distant, and the battle remains fierce. After nearly 2.5 years of fighting, the war is no longer making international headlines, and domestic political turmoil and priorities are also causing concern for Ukraine’s NATO allies.

Asked on Monday about his views on a possible Trump administration after the U.S. election, Zelensky told reporters that Ukraine has “good relations” with both Democrats and Republicans.

“In Utah (where Zelensky visited last week for a National Governors Association meeting), we met with Republican senators who respected Ukraine and me. I know Trump’s views on how to end this war. If he becomes President, we will continue this work.

One of Ukraine’s biggest concerns is the U.S. presidential election and whether Trump will win it, as polls suggest the second term Taking office in November.

Trump has always been contradictory about the war in Ukraine and continued aid. The former president’s relationship with Russia’s Putin grew increasingly warm during his tenure from 2017 to 2021. He previously said he would end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” If he were to take charge, no details were revealed about how he would be responsible.

However, the comment is an ominous sign for Ukraine, suggesting that Trump may try to withhold further aid.

keen on fences and seems “Trump-proof” NATO aid For Ukraine, last week’s military alliance in Washington reaffirmed long-standing support for Ukraine and the country’s ambitions to join Western defense blocs.

However, concerns about the possibility of a Republican administration also hang over the meeting, with analysts saying the alliance may be nervous about possible changes in the direction of U.S. policy under a Trump presidency.

“We don’t know who will be elected, but we do know that the likelihood of Trump’s election has increased,” Guntram Wolff, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank, told CNBC last week.

“Donald Trump will mean a major break with several NATO policies, especially regarding Ukraine and support for Ukraine. There are rumors that the ideologues around Trump have proposed some peace plans, which means that Ukraine will Give support to Ukraine.

Wolf said such a move would be a “dangerous path” because it would “embolden Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and the question of who will keep Ukraine safe after that remains open. So I think there’s a lot of real question.

At present, analysts believe that a ceasefire is unlikely, and Kyiv does not have any desire to seek a ceasefire with Russia, as the war is still in an “active phase” and both sides believe they have a chance to overwhelm the other.

“Russia’s recent demands for any kind of ceasefire are very extreme and there’s not going to be a lot of room for negotiation there, and I think that sends a signal that negotiations are not imminent or that there’s something on both sides’ minds.” Verisk “In the short or medium term,” Anna Gilmour, head of country risk and geopolitics at Maplecroft, told CNBCeuropean scream box“Last week.

“I think that, along with NATO’s continued support for Ukraine, is a sign that we’re not going to see the fighting end.”