VP Vance: Russia has offered significant compromises toward a Ukraine peace agreement

With peace efforts faltering, Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that Russia had made “significant concessions” toward ending the war in Ukraine. Yet there is little visible evidence that President Vladimir Putin has shifted from his initial invasion goals since February 2022.

In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vance argued that Moscow had shown “flexibility on some of their core demands,” including accepting that they cannot install a puppet regime in Kyiv and recognizing that Ukraine must have some form of security guarantee for its territorial integrity.

That depiction clashes with recent statements from Russian officials, who since the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska have rejected both points. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, also appearing on Meet the Press, dismissed the idea of Zelenskyy’s legitimacy while making clear that any security guarantees would require Russia’s direct involvement — effectively undermining them.

“We cannot agree to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation. This will not work,” Lavrov said last week. “The West, and especially the United States, must understand that discussing security without us is a utopia, a road to nowhere.” He added that guarantees should be based on the 2022 Istanbul talks, hardly a new concession.

The White House has not commented on whether Russia has actually softened its stance. Still, some analysts suggest private discussions could tell a different story. “We don’t know what was said at Alaska, that’s the problem,” said Mark Galeotti of Mayak Intelligence. “It may well be that what Vance is saying reflects what Putin said there.”