Zelensky: Ukraine’s chance to stand up to Russia will be slim without US support
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that his country would have only a small chance of withstanding a Russian invasion without military support from the United States.
“We’ll have a small chance, a small chance to survive without the support of the United States… I think this is very important,” Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News that will air in full Sunday.
In turn, US Vice President Jay D. Vance stressed on Friday that Washington wants to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine, during his first meeting with Zelensky in Munich to discuss Donald Trump’s efforts to reach an agreement with Russia.
The meeting in Germany is an important moment for Kiev as it seeks to maintain Washington’s support after the US president surprised his country’s allies by launching peace efforts with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“We want to achieve a lasting and durable peace, not a peace that will plunge Eastern Europe into conflict after only two years,” Vance said at the end of the meeting.
Trump alarmed Ukraine and European allies on Wednesday when he agreed to start peace talks in his first public call with Putin since returning to office.
It also raised fears that Ukraine was being abandoned after nearly three years of fighting against Moscow.
US officials have stressed that Zelensky will participate in the negotiations, while the Ukrainian leader has said he would be willing to sit down with Putin only after agreeing on a joint plan with his country’s allies.
“I am ready to meet only in this case,” he added.
Ahead of his meeting with the Ukrainian president, Vance stressed that the United States is prepared to pressure Russia, saying that Europe should of course be at the table.
But the US vice president also called on Europe to step up its defense efforts to allow Washington to focus on threats elsewhere in the world.
US officials have made conflicting statements about Washington’s strategy after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out Ukraine joining NATO or regaining all of its “occupied territory”.
