US could send TROOPS to Ukraine if Putin doesn’t make deal says JD Vance in hard line before Munich talks with Zelensky
THE US could send troops to Ukraine if Vladimir Putin doesn't negotiate in good faith as JD Vance takes a hard line stance ahead of peace talks.
The VP's fighting words come after European nations rebuked the US on Thursday for beginning talks to end Russia's invasion directly with the Kremlin but without including Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was set to meet Vance in Munich today as Trump demands a speedy end to the war.
Their meeting has now been postponed as Ukraine finalises a key partnership understanding with the US, the KyivPost reports.
The US appeared to be giving away concessions to Russia before negotiations had started saying that Ukraine couldn't go back to its 2014 borders and that it wouldn't be able to join Nato.
A land grab and stopping Nato's expansion have long been tyrant Putin's goals.
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But the US has stiffened its stance on Friday with Vande saying it could send troops to Ukraine if Russia doesn't negotiate in good faith, the Wall Street Journal reports.
He told the paper the US had levers at its disposal: "There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage.
"I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that's going to shock a lot of people."
While American spies have been operating in Ukraine, the superpower's soldiers have not officially been in the country.
The US has also walked back its Nato-joining ban on Ukraine saying Kyiv could still join the alliance.
Trump wants to end the war quickly with his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth saying that the US didn't want to have troops in the country.
The US President said he expects Russian officials to be at the conference for talks despite Russia not being invited to Munich.
Trump said: "Ukraine is also invited, by the way, not sure exactly who's going to be there from any country - but high-level people from Russia, from Ukraine and from the United States."
One of the topics being negotiated as part of the peace will be how to prevent a third Russian invasion.
America could still provide air support after a deal has been negotiated as part of Ukraine's security guarantee, The Times reports.
Ukraine would ideally like to join Nato, but the US had previously made it clear that would not happen.
But Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path to Nato” in a phone call with Zelensky, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
The talks also come just hours after Russia bombed the Chernobyl nuclear power plant with a drone.
The craft carried a "high-explosive warhead" and hit the sarcophagus early Friday morning of Reactor Four - the core which failed in the 1986 Soviet disaster.
Footage showed a thunderous explosion erupting from the dome early on Friday morning and a fire catching in the structure.
A large hole was left in the sarcophagus following the blast, with Ukrainian firefighters having to go into the structure to extinguish the blaze.
Zelensky slammed Russia as a "terrorist threat to the entire world" following the strike.
On Thursday, The Kremlin appeared to be celebrating the prospect of winning the war and being handed Ukrainian land.
Putin's top crony Dmitry Medvedev has hailed Trump as stepping back from "apocalypse" as he celebrated the peace talks.
The former Russian President - who is mad Vlad's top ally - gloated in a post on social media as he continued to push Russia's false narrative that either it wins or there will be nuclear war.
Former US President Joe Biden backed Ukraine and waited for Kyiv to lead peace negotiations.
Medvedev claimed that strategy was a was "a grave mistake, which nearly wiped humanity off the face of the earth".
Trump's peace plan
The exact details of Trump's are yet to be confirmed, but some key planks have been released.
US Defence Secretary Keith Hegseth said it was "unrealistic" for Ukraine to return to its 2014 borders before Putin invaded Crimea.
Hegseth also confirmed on Wednesday that the US doesn't want Ukraine to join Nato or for American troops to be involved in defending the country.
Instead, European soldiers, including Brits, could then be used to guarantee Russia doesn't invade again by policing a demilitarised zone.
A leaked peace plan said Ukraine could still become part of the EU in 2030 and that Trump would want the European bloc to drive Ukraine's postwar reconstruction.
Ukrainians react
At the front, Vasyl Savyn, 54, company commander of the 56th Separate Mariupol brigade said soldiers were not ready to give up because Trump wants to.
He said: "In our company we don’t have any American weapons; we are independent from Trump’s decisions.
"There are only people left on the front line who want to fight and see the victory.
"We may die here, but we will not give up."
Eugen Sobchenko, 41, an engineer from Odessa, said he was "very concerned" about the deal.
He believes Trump wants to give Putin enough concessions from Ukraine to frame the war as a win.
Eugen said: "Ukraine will turn into his unconditional victory both for the domestic citizen and for many external partners/countries.
"I want to hope that this is not the case, but I have little hope, unfortunately. This is indirectly confirmed by the Rouble exchange rate and the Russian stock market."
Another soldier, Eugen, from an Odessa anti-drone unit, said "nothing good will come out of" the deal for Ukraine.
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Eugen said: "I have a strong feeling that we are being betrayed by our biggest ally. I don’t feel comfortable at all.
"Time will tell more, of course. I wish to be wrong."
Trump and Putin's relationship
Donald Trump has a history of positive and admiring comments about strongman Vladimir Putin.
They have long prompted criticism from his rivals that he is "soft on Russia".
Trump rejects that, saying that no US president was ever tougher on Moscow and that a US president needs a relationship with the Russian leader.
Trump said he "got along great" with him during his first term where they met in person five times and nine publicly reported phone conversations.
Since the start of his second term, however, Trump has criticised Putin's conduct of the "ridiculous" Ukraine war and said that the conflict is "destroying" Russia.
Trump has threatened more sanctions on Russia if it didn't come to the negotiating table over Ukraine.
Putin, meanwhile, has sought to flatter
