-
Ukraine’s president criticized Senator JD Vance in an interview with The New Yorker, calling him “too radical.”
-
Trump’s running mate accuses Ukraine of corruption and claims the US has pledged too much aid to the country.
-
Zelenskyy warned that Vance’s position could lead to a global conflict and urged him to study World War II.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as “too radical” and advised him to study World War II in an interview with The New Yorker.
Zelenskyy criticized former President Donald Trump’s running mate’s handling of the war in Ukraine, accusing Trump of pushing the war-torn country to “give up its territory.”
He called Vance’s position a message that seemed to indicate that “Ukraine must make the sacrifice.”
Shortly before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vance said, “I have to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine.”
He has since accused Zelensky’s ministers of corruption and said the US has given too much aid to Ukraine.
In an op-ed for The Hill last October, Vance wrote that the US had “spent too many resources and attention on Ukraine” at the expense of other allies.
Last month, Vance outlined a possible plan to end the war in Ukraine under a potential Trump administration, involving the establishment of a “demilitarized zone” in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.
In return, Vance said, Ukraine would have to guarantee that it would not join NATO or other “allied institutions.”
In his interview with The New Yorker, Zelenskyy dismissed this as a “terrible idea” and “just slogans.”
Zelenskyy said he did not take Vance’s words seriously and warned that such a plan could lead to a global conflict.
“That approach would give the world an implicit rule: I came, I conquered, now this is mine,” he said.
Zelenskyy advised Vance to educate himself.
“Let Mr. Vance delve into the history of World War II, when a country was forced to cede part of its territory to one particular person,” he told The New Yorker.
He continued: “What did this man do? Was he appeased or did he deliver a devastating blow to the European continent — to many countries in general, and to the Jewish nation in particular?”
Zelenskyy drew a parallel with the appeasement policies of the 1930s, a diplomatic approach that involved making concessions to Adolf Hitler to avoid war. The strategy did not stop Hitler and the Nazis.
In the interview, Zelenskyy also addressed Trump’s repeated claims that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours, despite not presenting a specific plan.
Zelenskyy told The New Yorker: “I feel like Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even though he thinks he does.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
