Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in English about the relations between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia during an interview this week with conservative American media outlet Newsmax. Zelenskyy addressed recent comments by Vice President JD Vance, in which he said he was proud of cutting off U.S. funding for Ukraine’s purchase weapons.
Zelenskyy told Newsmax: “If the Vice President is proud that he’s not helping us, it means he’s helping Russians.”
ZELENSKYY: If JD Vance is proud that he’s not helping Ukraine, it means he’s helping Russians.
Maybe Vice President believes that if United States stops helping Ukraine, it will bring peace closer. But that approach doesn’t work with Russia.
So, I’m not agree with JD Vance.… pic.twitter.com/ckrhhpq3kK
— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) April 29, 2026
On April 14, at a Turning Point USA event in the state of Georgia, Vance praised President Trump’s decision to halt direct U.S. weapons transfers to Ukraine. Vance said: “It’s one of the things I’m proudest [of]… we’ve told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the U.S. is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore.”
JD Vance: Stopping funding for Ukraine is one of the things I’m proudest of in this administration. pic.twitter.com/KIw5SoXqPC https://t.co/axEZjuJYu5
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) April 29, 2026
[Note: As a GOP candidate running for Senate in Ohio in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, Vance said: “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”]
Zelenskyy added of Vance: “Maybe Vice President wanted to say that it will bring peace closer if United States doesn’t help us, but it doesn’t work with Russia. Russia doesn’t respect weakness. And if no one will help us, we will, of course, be in more weak position.
“But still, I’m sure the United States is a great partner for Ukraine, and Ukrainians can also strengthen America. People say in business, ‘It’s a win-win’, so why not choose to win?”
[NOTE: Vance was heckled at the Turning Point USA event in Georgia, where the Vice President, a recent convert to Catholicism, said that the Pope should be “careful when he talks about theology.” This week, TPUSA announced that the Vice President “was forced to cancel” his appearance at the next TPUSA event, scheduled for Thursday in Iowa, “as he has to attend unexpectedly scheduled congressional votes this week.”]
US Vice President JD Vance was heckled during a Turning Point USA event for the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, on Tuesday, April 14, as he criticized Pope Leo XIV’s recent remarks regarding war.
Footage livestreamed by Turning Point USA captured the sounds of a… pic.twitter.com/Chsz1EtFDY
— FOX26Houston (@FOX26Houston) April 15, 2026