JD Vance accused of insulting British troops with Ukraine peace comments

JD Vance has been accused of insulting British soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan with his comments on Europe’s contributions to Ukraine peace talks.

The US Vice President dismissively described a proposed peacekeeping force suggested by European leaders as ‘20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years’.

France and the UK are the only two countries that have currently committed to putting soldiers on the ground in Ukraine to help avert a threat from Russia.

Critics pointed out that Vance’s ’30 or 40 years’ covers the time British forces fought alongside their US allies in the Middle East.

Liberal Democrat MP Helen Maguire, a former Captain in the Royal Military Police who served in Iraq, said: ‘JD Vance is erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

‘I saw firsthand how American and British soldiers fought bravely together shoulder to shoulder.

‘Six of my own regiment, the Royal Military Police, didn’t return home from Iraq. This is a sinister attempt to deny that reality.’

Former Defence Minister Johnny Mercer described Vance as a ‘clown’ and said: ‘By his own admission he spent his time in the Marines “writing articles and taking pictures”.

‘Perhaps if he had got his hands dirty serving his country like so many of his fellow American and British veterans, chasing his own country’s crazy foreign policy ideas, he might not be so quick to dismiss their sacrifice.’

Despite the UK and France being the only two countries that have made the commitment, Vance described the suggestion he was referring to them in his comments as ‘absurdly dishonest’.

He wrote in a post on X: ‘I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.’

The comment came as President Donald Trump paused all US military aid shipments to Ukraine just days after clashing with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.

There has not yet been any indication how long the pause will last, nor has there been any comment from Ukraine.

This afternoon, Downing Street revealed that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called Trump last night before the President made the decision.

A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: ‘President [Trump] has been clear that he is focused on peace.

‘We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.’

The decision came just hours after Trump publicly berated Ukrainian president Zelensky for suggesting that any notion of a peace plan with Russia ‘is still very, very far away’.

Reacting to his remarks on social media, Trump described Zelensky’s words as the ‘worst statement that could have been made.

‘It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US – probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia.

‘What are they thinking?”

He later said European countries had ‘acted very well’ and were ‘good people’.

‘We’re going to make deals with everybody to get this war (finished), including Europe and European nations. And they’ve acted very well. You know, they’re good people … they want to work it out,’ Mr Trump said at the White House.

Trump’s statement on Ukraine on Truth Social (Picture: Truth Social)

Zelensky responded to Trump’s outburst by posting on X that Ukraine was ‘working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace’.

‘Peace is needed as soon as possible,’ he said.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: ‘We won’t be blindsided or bounced from the focus of getting peace for Ukraine with those security guarantees.’

She said Trump’s decision was a ‘matter for the US President’ and emphasised the importance of maintaining discussions with the White House.

During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity early on Tuesday, Vance accused Zelensky of ‘needling’ Trump and having a ‘certain sense of entitlement’ during their now-infamous talks at the White House last week

The Vice President said the encounter, which happened in front of the media, ‘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 made at least one attempt to restart negotiations after leaving the White House, but efforts were shut down by Trump.

He also used the interview as an opportunity to criticise Europe’s approach to the Ukraine war, suggesting leaders were saying different things in public than they were in private.

Speaking to Hannity, he said: ‘Here’s the problem with the Europeans … they need to be realistic and the craziest part about this, Sean, is sometimes you have European heads of state who in public will puff up their chest and say, ‘We’re in this with President Zelensky for the next 10 years.’

‘And in private they’ll pick up the phone and say, “This can’t go on forever, he has to come to the negotiating table.”

‘I honestly don’t care what the Europeans say in public, what I care is what they say in private.

‘And what they need to be saying to President Zelensky is this can’t go on forever, the bloodshed, the killing, the economic devastation, it’s making everyone worse off.’

The UK Government said this morning that it remains ‘absolutely committed’ to securing peace and will be ‘engaging with key allies in support of this effort’

A Government spokesperson said: ‘We remain absolutely committed to securing a lasting peace in Ukraine and are engaging with key allies in support of this effort. It is the right thing to do, and is in our interest to do so.

‘We have bolstered Ukrainian military capabilities through our commitment to provide Ukraine with £3 billion-a-year in military aid for as long as it takes and through a £2.26 billion loan using sanctioned Russian assets.

‘In addition, we’ve set up a partnership with Ukraine that allows them to use £1.6 billion of UK Export Finance to buy 5,000 air defence missiles manufactured in Belfast, putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position for peace.’

Defence Secretary John Healey is expected to visit the US later this week for talks with his counterpart Pete Hegseth.

Germany and France meanwhile have reportedly started discussions of how 200 billion euros (£165 billion) of frozen Russian assets could be used as a way to hold Moscow to a potential ceasefire deal.

Sophia Martinez