JD Vance says Ukraine should stay out of NATO

JD Vance said Ukraine should not join NATO and called it a partner of the United States, not a formal ally, in a new interview.

The US vice president spoke on the program a 2WAY interview. The host asked whether Ukraine counts as an ally, and he answered that in a certain sense it is a partner.

Vance said Washington has no formal alliance with Kyiv. Ukraine sits outside NATO, he noted, and he does not think it should join.

What JD Vance said about NATO

Vance described occasional differences in the two countries’ interests. He also praised Ukraine as a respectable and beautiful country with many wonderful people. Even so, he said the two governments will work together on some issues and take opposing positions on others.

Kyiv has long seen NATO membership as a way to secure its future, so JD Vance’s words matter there. It applied for fast-track entry in September 2022. At the Vilnius summit in July 2023, allies eased the path to membership, but Ukraine got no formal invitation.

The alliance’s Washington declaration in 2024 said that Ukraine’s future is in NATO. Even so, the Trump administration has called Ukraine’s accession unrealistic.

JD Vance on Ukraine’s strikes on Russia

JD Vance also objected to Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel sites. In his view, those attacks raise fuel bills for Americans. He urged Kyiv to stop hitting Russian energy infrastructure.

He answered no when asked if Ukraine should hit those facilities. Even so, he said the US would keep cooperating with Ukraine on some matters.

This position fits with recent US moves. The shift matches other US moves. On October 9, Trump unveiled a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Washington has also limited Starlink access for Ukrainian forces.

Reaction in Kyiv and Brussels

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised those steps. They include Trump’s choice to hold back new sanctions on Russia under the Graham Act. In his telling, Kyiv was losing a strong partner. Easing pressure on Russia, he warned, would tell Putin that the world backs him. Trump replied that dealing with Zelenskyy is more complicated than dealing with Putin.

Zelenskyy has since travelled to Brussels, where he met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. The two sides agreed on ways to bolster Ukraine’s security and expand arms deliveries.

Meanwhile, NATO allies have begun negotiating what troops and weapons they would need if Russia attacked.

Tension is also rising on the alliance’s flank. Drones also targeted no fewer than eight cargo vessels near Romania and Bulgaria during the first half of October. Both countries belong to NATO.

Officials in Kyiv follow such comments closely, because remarks from US leaders about NATO and the terms for ending the war shape talks between the two capitals. Vance does not back membership, yet he leaves room for cooperation in some areas.

For now, JD Vance has set out a clear line against Ukrainian membership, and the remarks add to doubts in Kyiv about how far Washington will stand by it.