Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on July 16, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here.
J.D. Vance’s selection as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s running mate is a disaster for Ukraine.
"I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another," Vance, the then-U.S. Senate candidate said on conservative Steve Bannon’s radio show, just days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Setting aside his views on other topics, the senator from Ohio has built his entire foreign policy reputation on bashing the country resisting Russian invasion. He opposes military and financial aid to Ukraine, Ukraine’s NATO membership, and believes the U.S. should negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that Ukraine should cede territory to Russia.
David Kirichenko
As a Senate candidate, Vance highlighted immigration and fentanyl addiction as domestic issues he'd prefer the U.S. focus on. The invasion itself, and the many atrocities in the time since, have only seemed to harden his apathy.
In fact, Vance has since evolved from apathy to outright hostility toward Ukraine, leading lawmakers in the Senate opposed to aiding the country’s defense. In April 2023, along with 18 other Republicans, he signed a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden urging him to stop sending aid to Ukraine, stating they would block all future aid packages.
Around the same period, Vance wrote a New York Times op-ed arguing that Ukraine needs more manpower but it's hopeless to try to raise it, the U.S. cannot manufacture enough weapons to turn the tide of war, Taiwan's defense is being weakened because Patriot air defense systems are being sent to Ukraine, delaying shipments to the Asia-Pacific, and the U.S. should negotiate with Putin.
Tim Mak
In December 2023, he went further, calling on Ukraine to cede territory and negotiate with Russia to end the war. Vance advocates not only a reduction in military aid but also financial aid, opposing the seizure of Russian assets to be used for Ukraine’s benefit.
Over the past decade, Vance has proven to be malleable: first declaring himself a "Never Trump guy" before Trump took office — even calling him an "idiot" and "America's Hitler." But since then, Vance has done a complete makeover as a MAGA stalwart, praising Trump at every turn and using his staunch opposition to Ukraine’s fight to burnish his credentials on the right.
The selection of Vance — one heartbeat away from the presidency, as the deputy to a man who has just survived a shooting — is a catastrophe for those who support the Ukrainians resisting Russian violence.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.
