US Vice President JD Vance said the only way to secure lasting peace in Ukraine is to grant the US an economic upside – and slammed the UK as ‘some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 years’

JD Vance slammed the UK as “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 years” while disapproving of plans to send British and French troops to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force.

The US Vice President said the only way to secure lasting peace in the region is to grant the US an “economic upside in the future of Ukraine”. He said: “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. 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.”

He also said: “The only guy in town with a strategy is the President of the United States, and everybody needs to follow his lead.” The UK Government said on Tuesday it remains “absolutely committed” to securing peace in Ukraine and is “engaging with key allies” after Trump paused US military aid to the country.

Despite Vance’s comment, the UK has been involved in several military interventions around the world since 1980, and some of the most brutal have been with the US. Hundreds of British service personnel were killed when the UK helped the US with fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan during the early 2000s.

After Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the UK played a supporting role to the US in a fierce bombing campaign against Iraq the following year. This Anglo-American airstrike campaign continued for a decade after the Gulf War, lasting until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The British military has also been deployed multiple times to counter threats to allied nations from neighbouring countries. A key example is the 1994 deployment to Kuwait to deter a potential threat from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

Sitting down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Vance said the clash between Trump and Ukraine’s president Zelensky, which happened in front of reporters, “really set Zelensky off”. “He showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump said is the policy,” he said.

“That’s the real breakdown. I think Zelensky wasn’t yet there. And frankly, still isn’t there. But I think he’ll get there eventually, he has to.” Vance confirmed Ukrainian officials tried to restart negotiations after leaving the White House, but this was shut down by Trump. Vance also accused Zelensky of having a “certain sense of entitlement” as the US President paused aid to Ukraine.

A White House official said the US was “pausing and reviewing” aid to Ukraine to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution”. Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal and wants Zelensky “committed” to that goal, the official added.