Vance’s comments about European peacekeeping plan for Ukraine draw ire abroad

Vice President Vance is defending himself Tuesday after triggering a furious reaction for suggesting that a proposal to put European peacekeepers in Ukraine would not be enough to prevent Russia from invading again.

During an interview with Fox News, Vance said a better “security guarantee” for Ukraine was for Kyiv to sign a proposed critical minerals deal with Washington.

“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Vance told Fox’s Sean Hannity, in an interview broadcast Monday night. “That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”

The interview followed Friday’s confrontational White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where they were set to discuss and potentially sign a deal that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals. President Trump called off the signing, charging that Zelenskyy was “not ready for peace.”

On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Vance said a deal is still possible. “I think the president is still committed to the mineral deal. I think we’ve heard some positive things, but not yet, of course, the signature from our friends in Ukraine,” he told reporters.

Zelenskyy posted on X that the White House meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way.”

“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” he wrote Tuesday. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”

The Trump administration argues that the deal would give Ukraine more economic security and ensure U.S. interest in physical security against Russian aggression.

Backlash from allies abroad

Soon after the Fox interview aired Monday night, Vance’s comments were circulating overseas across Europe. Current and former European leaders quickly responded with some seeing them as a swipe against the proposed United Kingdom and French-led peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.

James Cartlidge, a conservative British lawmaker who serves as the opposition party’s shadow defense secretary, called Vance’s comments “deeply disrespectful.”

“Britain and France came to [the U.S.’s] aid, deploying thousands of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother and numerous parliamentary colleagues, past and present. It’s deeply disrespectful to ignore such service and sacrifice,” Cartlidge wrote on X.

The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have pushed for a more specific security “backstop” beyond the mineral deal.

Vance later took to social media where he called it “absurdly dishonest” to argue that he had been referring to the UK or France, despite the two countries leading the effort.

“I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” he wrote. “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.”