Russia is showing signs of scaling back its demands in the war with Ukraine, according to US Vice President JD Vance, who called the move “significant concessions” toward a possible settlement.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vance said President Vladimir Putin has accepted that Ukraine will need security guarantees to protect against future Russian aggression.
“For the first time in three and a half years of this conflict, the Russians have made real concessions to President Trump,” Vance said. “They’ve accepted they cannot install a puppet regime in Kyiv and acknowledged there must be some form of guarantee for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”
Still, Vance cautioned that there is little evidence the war the deadliest in Europe since World War Two is close to ending.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it aimed for sweeping territorial gains and political control. Those goals have steadily narrowed as the war has dragged on, killing tens of thousands of people.
Last week, sources told Reuters that Putin now wants Ukraine to surrender the eastern Donbas region, abandon plans to join NATO, remain neutral, and block Western troops from entering the country in exchange for halting attacks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed the shift in tone on Sunday, saying a group of nations, including members of the UN Security Council, should act as guarantors of Ukraine’s security.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on Russia if no progress is made toward peace within two weeks. The warning came just a week after he met with Putin in Alaska.
Vance said any sanctions would be weighed individually but admitted that fresh penalties are unlikely to force Moscow into an immediate ceasefire. He pointed to Trump’s recent move to slap a 25% tariff on Indian goods, punishing New Delhi for buying Russian oil, as an example of how economic pressure could be used to push for peace.
“Trump has made it clear Russia can be welcomed back into the global economy if they stop the killing,” Vance said. “But if they don’t, they’ll remain isolated.”
