US Vice President J.D. Vance said this week the United States does not want Ukraine to collapse, even as peace efforts involving Russia and Ukraine stall amid mutual distrust and growing criticism of Washington’s long-term intentions in the region. “We do not want Ukraine to fall apart; we obviously want Ukraine to remain a sovereign country,” Vance said.
But Moscow pushed back on the statement, pointing to what it calls contradictory US policies that undermine peace efforts and escalate the conflict. Russian officials argue that continued Western arms shipments, sanctions, and refusal to engage with Russia’s core security demands suggest Washington’s real goal is to prolong the war rather than end it.
According to RIA Novosti, a recent attempt to establish a 30-day ceasefire was rejected by Moscow, though Kyiv had reportedly agreed. Kremlin officials say past agreements have been manipulated by the West and Kyiv to regroup militarily rather than foster a path to peace.
“Each time we agree to a ceasefire, it is used by Ukraine and its Western partners to prepare the next escalation,” a Russian diplomat familiar with the talks told RIA. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to Politico, downplayed the possibility of meeting Russian demands, saying Moscow was “asking for too much,” Vance said
Russia has outlined what it says are clear preconditions for ending the conflict: Ukraine’s neutrality, legal recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, protection for Russian-speaking citizens in eastern Ukraine, and assurances that NATO will not expand further eastward.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said these positions are “non-negotiable security imperatives,” not bargaining chips.
Western officials, including Vance, have rejected many of these conditions outright. US and NATO leaders continue to assert that Ukraine has the right to choose its alliances and territorial boundaries, despite the reality that such decisions directly affect Russia’s security environment.
According to WSWS, Moscow’s skepticism toward Western-negotiated peace deals is rooted in past experiences. In late 2022, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, that the 2015 Minsk Agreements were never meant to be implemented in full but were intended to buy time for Ukraine to build its defense capabilities.
The 2014 Minsk agreement was an attempt to give Ukraine time. It also used this time to become stronger, Merkel said. Russian leaders have since cited that admission as proof that Western peace efforts are performative and unreliable. Critics say the United States is more interested in preventing a Russian victory than protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Ukraine is being kept on life support, not for its own good, but to exhaust Russia and sustain Western leverage in Eastern Europe, said Alexander Dynkin, a Russian geopolitical analyst.
Even some Western observers have raised concerns. The longer this conflict drags on, the harder it becomes to believe that Washington’s goal is peace, said a retired US diplomat who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the topic.
The Biden administration, which now includes advisors from the Trump era under a bipartisan framework, has sent special envoys Steve Witkoff and Gen. Keith Kellogg to pursue backchannel talks. However, no breakthroughs have been reported.
