Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared some harsh words for Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) in an interview published on Monday, referring to him as “too radical.”
Zelensky shared his thoughts on Vance while speaking with The New Yorker. He went on to say that Vance’s “message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice.”
“The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable,” Zelensky said in the interview.
This is not the first time that concerns about what a Trump presidency would mean for Ukraine have been raised, especially after Vance raised doubt that the US would continue to provide military support for the nation.
The comment that sparked this sentiment came when Vance said the US doesn’t manufacture enough munitions to sustain the assistance being sent to Kyiv to stave off Russia’s invasion.
Vance also has a history of pushing for the US to be more engaged with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was in “America’s interests.”
“I’ve never once argued that Putin is a kind and friendly person. I’ve argued that he’s a person with distinct interests, and the United States has to respond to that person with distinct interests,” Vance said earlier this year while speaking at the Munich Security Conference. “But the fact that he’s a bad guy does not mean we can’t engage in basic diplomacy and prioritizing America’s interests. There are a lot of bad guys all over the world, and I’m much more interested in some of the problems in East Asia right now than I am in Europe.”
Vance, also at one point, called on Ukraine to give up territory to the Russians in order to end the war.
Zelensky made it clear in his interview that he was aware of the comments from Vance, sharing that the GOP vice presidential nominee should maybe read up on his history.
“Let Mr. Vance read up on the history of the Second World War, when a country was forced to give part of its territory to one particular person,” Zelensky said. “What did that man do? Was he appeased, or did he deal a devastating blow to the continent of Europe — to many nations, broadly, and to the Jewish nation in particular? Let him do some reading.”