World
Zelenskyy warns Vance’s plan to give Russia seized land will lead to ‘global showdown’
In an interview over the weekend with the New Yorker, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced some of his harshest criticisms against any U.S. official since Russia’s war began when pressed about Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance.
Zelenskyy has pointedly toed the line when it comes to the contentious 2024 U.S. presidential election and has spoken to each of President Biden, Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris and GOP nominee former President Trump.
But the gloves came off Sunday in an interview with the New York-based publication when Zelenskyy called Vance “radical” and warned that his proposal to bring an end to the war in Ukraine would instead prompt a “global showdown.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a joint press conference with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sept. 20, 2024. (Christoph Soeder, Pool Photo via AP)
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Vance said this month that if elected to the White House, Trump would work with Russia, Ukraine and European leaders to establish a “peaceful settlement” that would grant Moscow the territory it has illegally seized since its 2022 invasion.
Upon Kyiv’s agreement to gift the land to Russia, there would then be the creation of a demilitarized zone along the current front lines, Ukraine would be fortified to deter a third Russian invasion, and Kyiv would agree to give up its plans to join NATO – a proposal that Western security experts have said would be a substantial win for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“If this were a plan, then America is headed for global conflict,” Zelenskyy said. “It would imply that whoever asserts control over territory – not the rightful owner but whoever came in a month or a week ago with a machine gun in hand – is the one who’s in charge.”
The Ukrainian president warned that this attitude would not only be costly for Kyiv and the Ukrainian people, it would jeopardize world order everywhere, including in the Middle East and wherever China threatens Western interests.
“We’ll end up in a world where might is right,” Zelenskyy said. “It will be a completely different world, a global showdown.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pa., on Sept. 22, 2024. (Commonwealth Media Services/Handout via Reuters)
Despite his criticism of Vance, Zelenskyy looked to highlight that he has had a different experience in his dealings with the chief Republican candidate for president.
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“I should say that it hasn’t been like this with Trump. He and I talked on the phone, and his message was as positive as it could be from my point of view,” Zelenskyy told the New Yorker, detailing the platitudes issued by Trump like “I understand” and “I will lend support.”
Trump has drawn criticism for failing to detail what his administration would do in the way of aiding Ukraine, though he has been loudly critical of the amount of aid Washington has supplied Kyiv.
The former president has said that if elected, he will end the war between Ukraine and Russia before even taking up the top job come January 2025, though he has not explained how he will do this.
“Trump makes political statements in his election campaign,” Zelenskyy said. “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pa., on Sept. 22, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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“With this war, oftentimes the deeper you look at it the less you understand,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy, who is in the U.S. to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said he will meet with Biden to present a “victory plan” that looks to unite the Western allies further against Russia and secure Ukraine to a greater extent.
The Ukrainian president did not detail what is in the plan, though it is expected to include calls for additional military aid and the lifting of long-range strike bans, though it could also include plans to expedite Kyiv’s accession into the EU and other such alliances.
“A strong Ukraine will force Putin to the negotiating table. I’m convinced of that,” Zelenskyy said.
There are concerns that Biden could turn down the calls for more U.S. aid to Ukraine with the presidential election just over a month and a half out.
“That’s a horrible thought. It would mean that Biden doesn’t want to end the war in any way that denies Russia a victory. And we would end up with a very long war, an impossible, exhausting situation that would kill a tremendous number of people,” he added.
But Zelenskyy also said Ukraine is used to “living in Plan B” and he doesn’t “blame” Biden for how the war turned out.
President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are shown after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Fasano, Italy, on June 13, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
“At the end of the day, he took a powerful, historic step when he chose to support us at the start of the war, an action that pushed our other partners to do the same,” he added.
Though Zelenskyy also warned that a diplomatic end to the war could only be accomplished if Kyiv is given what it needs to be in a position to adequately negotiate with Moscow.
“If you don’t want this war to drag on, if you do not want Putin to bury us under the corpses of his people, taking more Ukrainian lives in the process, we offer you a plan to strengthen Ukraine,” he said. “It is not a fantasy and not science fiction, and importantly, it does not require the Russians to cooperate to succeed.
“The plan spells out what our partners can do without Russia’s participation. If diplomacy is the desire of both sides, then before diplomacy can be effective, our plan’s implementation depends only on us and on our partners,” Zelenskyy added.
Vance’s campaign did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
World
Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?
A post on X by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has triggered a wave of misinformation linked to the EU’s €90 billion support loan to Ukraine, which is designed to help Kyiv meet its general budget and defence needs amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
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Hungary said earlier this week that it would block both the loan — agreed by EU leaders in December — and a new EU sanctions package against Moscow amid a dispute over oil supplies.
Shortly afterwards, Metsola posted on X that she had signed the Ukraine support loan on behalf of the parliament.
She said the funds would be used to maintain essential public services, support Ukraine’s defence, protect shared European security, and anchor Ukraine’s future within Europe.
The announcement triggered a wave of reactions online, with some claiming Hungary’s veto had been ignored, but this is incorrect.
Metsola did sign the loan on behalf of the European Parliament, but that’s only one step in the EU’s legislative process. Her signature does not mean the loan has been definitively implemented.
How the process works
In December, after failing to reach an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort, the European Council agreed in principle to provide €90 billion to help Kyiv meet its budgetary and military needs over the next two years.
On 14 January, the European Commission put forward a package of legislative proposals to ensure continued financial support for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027.
These included a proposal to establish a €90 billion Ukraine support loan, amendments to the Ukraine Facility — the EU instrument used to deliver budgetary assistance — and changes to the EU’s multiannual financial framework so the loan could be backed by any unused budgetary “headroom”.
Under EU law, these proposals must be adopted by both the European Parliament and the European Council. Because the loan requires amendments to EU budgetary rules, it ultimately needs unanimous approval from all member states.
Metsola’s signature therefore does not amount to a final decision, nor does it override Hungary’s veto.
The oil dispute behind Hungary’s opposition
Budapest says its objections are linked to a dispute over the Druzhba pipeline, a Soviet-era route that carries Russian oil via Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.
According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Hungary and Slovakia imported an estimated €137 million worth of Russian crude through the pipeline in January alone, under a temporary EU exemption.
Oil flows reportedly stopped in late January after a Russian air strike that Kyiv says damaged the pipeline’s southern branch in western Ukraine. Hungary disputes this, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accusing Ukraine of blocking it from being used.
Speaking in Kyiv alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the pipeline had been damaged by Russia, not Kyiv.
He added that repairs were dangerous and could not be carried out quickly without putting Ukrainian servicemen in danger.
Tensions escalated further after reports that Ukraine struck a Russian pumping station serving the pipeline. Orbán responded by ordering increased security at critical infrastructure sites, claiming Kyiv was attempting to disrupt Hungary’s energy system.
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World
State Dept authorizes non-essential US Embassy personnel in Jerusalem to depart ahead of possible Iran strikes
Deadline looms for Iran-US nuclear deal
U.S.-Iran nuclear talks intensify in Switzerland as President Trump’s deadline approaches. Vice President JD Vance states there’s ‘no chance’ of endless war in the Middle East.
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The State Department is allowing non-essential personnel working at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to leave Israel ahead of possible strikes on Iran. The embassy announced the decision early Friday morning and said that “in response to security incidents and without advance notice” it could place further restrictions on where U.S. government employees can travel within Israel.
The decision came after meetings and phone calls through the night Thursday into Friday, according to The New York Times, which reviewed a copy of an email that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sent to embassy workers.
The Times reported that the ambassador said in his email that the move was a result of “an abundance of caution” and that those wishing to leave “should do so TODAY.” He reportedly urged them to look for flights out of Ben Gurion Airport to any destination, cautioning that the embassy’s move “will likely result in high demand for airline seats today.”
The U.S. has authorized non-essential embassy personnel to leave Israel amid escalating tensions with Iran. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the email, Huckabee also said that there was “no need to panic,” but he underscored that those looking to leave should “make plans to depart sooner rather than later,” the Times reported.
“Focus on getting a seat to anyplace from which you can then continue travel to D.C., but the first priority will be getting expeditiously out of country,” Huckabee said in the email, according to the Times.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Mar. 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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The embassy reiterated the State Department’s advisory for U.S. citizens to reconsider traveling to Israel and the West Bank “due to terrorism and civil unrest.” Additionally, the department advised that U.S. citizens not travel to Gaza because of terrorism and armed conflict, as well as northern Israel, particularly within 2.5 miles of the Lebanese and Syrian borders because of “continued military presence and activity.”
It also recommended that U.S. citizens not travel within 1.5 miles of the Egyptian border, with the exception of the Taba crossing, which remains open.
“Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities,” the embassy said in its warning. “The security environment is complex and can change quickly, and violence can occur in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza without warning.”
Israeli and U.S. flags are placed on the road leading to the U.S. consulate in the Jewish neighborhood of Arnona, on the East-West Jerusalem line in Jerusalem, May 9, 2018. (Corinna Kern/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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While the embassy did not specifically mention Iran in its warning, it referenced “increased regional tensions” that could “cause airlines to cancel and/or curtail flights into and out of Israel.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment on this matter.
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