During his tour of India this week, U.S. Vice President JD Vance made it clear that the Trump administration’s patience with Russia and Ukraine has run out. Calling for an end to stalling on both sides, he warned: “It’s time for them to either say yes [to the most recent American peace proposal] or for the U.S. to walk away from this process.” Donald Trump himself later added fuel to the fire by accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being the main obstacle to peace.
Though his comments may spark backlash, Vance’s position is entirely aligned with American interests. Indeed, the Trump administration may see it as wise to end its involvement in peace talks—and in Ukraine—before sinking political capital into additional rounds of haggling or, worse, accepting a bad deal that comes with further U.S. obligations.
The most important U.S. priority as it pushes for a settlement is ending its involvement in the war, quickly and completely. Trump, like his predecessors, views Ukraine as holding few long-term strategic benefits for the United States. Meanwhile, officials argue that continued military assistance drains U.S. defence resources needed elsewhere, and warn against deepening entanglements such as security guarantees or intelligence sharing.
America has accomplished its wartime aims in Ukraine. It kept Russia from seizing control of Kyiv with generous military support and forced Moscow to pay a high cost for its invasion, in the form of hundreds of thousands of casualties and the loss of tens of thousands of missiles, thousands of tanks, and valuable warships.
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