Russian forces take control of two settlements in eastern Ukraine, TASS says

MUNICH: US Vice President JD Vance accused European leaders on Friday of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration, drawing a sharp rebuke from Germany’s defense minister and overshadowing discussions on the war in Ukraine.
The prospect of peace talks had been expected to dominate the annual Munich Security Conference after a call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering.
He said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech — as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius hit back in his speech to the conference later in the day, calling Vance’s remarks “unacceptable.”
He said Vance had called into question democracy not only in Germany but in Europe as a whole.
The clash underlined the divergent worldviews of Trump’s new administration and European leaders, making it hard for longtime allies the United States and Europe to find common ground on issues including Ukraine.

Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.
After his speech, Vance met with Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, a move likely to draw criticism as unwelcome interference ahead of German federal elections next week.
Trump’s call with Putin alarmed European governments, which have tried to isolate the Russian president since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and fear they could be cut out of peace talks that would have repercussions for their own security.
Vance, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich on Friday, told the Wall Street Journal in an interview before the conference that Trump could use several tools — economic and military — for leverage with Putin.
Vance’s spokesman, William Martin, later took issue with the newspaper’s interpretation that the vice president had been threatening Russia.

Peace talks
Zelensky said at the Munich conference that he would talk to Putin only once Ukraine had agreed on a common plan with Trump and European leaders.
Vance and Zelensky declined to give details of what they discussed in Munich but the Ukrainian president reiterated that his country needs “real security guarantees.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned against any attempt to impose a peace deal on Ukraine.
“A sham peace — over the heads of Ukrainians and Europeans — would gain nothing,” she said. “A sham peace would not bring lasting security, neither for the people in Ukraine nor for us in Europe or the United States.”
Russia now holds about 20 percent of Ukraine nearly three years after launching a full-scale invasion, saying Kyiv’s pursuit of NATO membership posed an existential threat. Ukraine and the West call Russia’s action an imperialist land grab.
Vance also repeated Trump’s demand that Europe do more to safeguard its own defense so Washington can focus on other regions, particularly the Indo-Pacific.
“In the future, we think Europe is going to have to take a bigger role in its own security,” he said in a meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Vance was “absolutely right” about the need for Europe “stepping up” and doing more for its own defense. “We have to grow up in that sense and spend much more,” Rutte said.
At the conference, several European leaders echoed his comments, saying Europe would step up its defense spending but also needed to discuss with Washington on a gradual phasing-out of its support.
Prior to meeting with the AfD leader, Vance suggested in his speech that the group is an eligible political partner, appearing to denounce a policy not to work with the AfD held by Germany’s major political parties.
The anti-immigration AfD is monitored by German security services on suspicion of being right-wing extremist. It is currently polling at around 20 percent ahead of the February 23 general election.
Billionaire US businessman Elon Musk, the biggest donor to Trump’s 2024 election effort and now head of Trump’s task force to slash US government spending, has also publicly backed the AfD.

MUNICH, Germany: US Vice President JD Vance pledged Friday that Washington sought to secure a “lasting” peace as he held a first meeting with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Donald Trump’s push for a deal with Moscow.
The talks in Munich were seen as a key moment for Kyiv as it tries to keep Washington on its side after Trump stunned allies by announcing peace efforts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” Vance said as the meeting wrapped up.
He said “good conversations” had been had with Zelensky about how they could reach that goal, and they would have more talks “in the days, weeks and months to come.”
Zelensky also hailed a “good conversation,” saying the encounter with Vance was “our first meeting, not last, I’m sure.”
“We are ready to move as quickly as possible toward a real and guaranteed peace,” Zelensky wrote later on X, adding that an envoy from Washington would visit Kyiv.
Trump rattled Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday by agreeing to launch peace talks in his first publicly announced call with Putin since returning to office.
The dramatic thaw in relations sparked fears Ukraine could be left out in the cold after nearly three years battling against Moscow’s invasion.

US officials have insisted that Zelensky will be involved in negotiations — and the Ukrainian leader said he would be prepared to sit down with Putin after agreeing a “common plan” with Trump.
“Only in this case I’m ready to meet,” Zelensky told the Munich Security Conference before seeing Vance.
Vance said ahead of the meeting that the United States was prepared to pressure Russia, adding that Europe should “of course” be at the table.
But he also told Europe to “step up” on bolstering its own defense to allow Washington to focus on threats elsewhere in the world.
US officials have sent mixed messages over Washington’s strategy after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth appeared to rule out Ukraine joining NATO or retaking all of its territory.

That has sparked major worries in Kyiv and Europe that Ukraine could be forced into a bad deal that leaves the continent facing an emboldened Putin.
But Vance told The Wall Street Journal that Trump would put everything “on the table” in potential talks, and that Washington could even use “military leverage” against Russia to force a deal.
He did not give more away in a keenly awaited keynote speech, as he avoided addressing the war in Ukraine and focused instead on scolding Europe over immigration and free speech.
Saudi Arabia, after being named by Trump as a likely venue for a meeting with Putin, said it would welcome holding any talks between the two leaders.
Zelensky appeared to play down fears that Trump was cutting out Kyiv, saying the US president had given him his personal number when they spoke.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he assured Zelensky that it’s “Ukrainians alone who can drive the discussions for a solid and lasting peace” with Russia, in a post on X.
In a bid to keep Washington close, Kyiv has held talks over granting access to its rare mineral deposits in return for future US security support.
European allies, who along with Washington are Ukraine’s strongest backers, demanded that they too be included in negotiations that will impact their continent’s security.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned that forcing Ukraine into a bad deal would harm US interests.
“I believe that by working together, we can deliver that just and lasting peace,” she said.

While Europe nervously monitors the US stance on Ukraine, there is little ambiguity on Trump’s determination to get Europe to spend more on its defense.
Fears that Vance could announce a major US troop reduction in Europe did not materialize, but he repeated warnings that Washington needed to focus more on other parts of the globe.
On the sidelines of the conference, Vance also met with leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, according to German press.
It comes as Vance criticized Germany for blocking the far right from possibly sharing power in upcoming elections.
The conservative candidate and poll favorite Friedrich Merz insists he would not govern with the AfD or actively seek its support.
Amid the diplomatic flurry in Munich, Zelensky said that back on the ground in Ukraine a Russian drone had struck a cover built to contain radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, though he added that radiation levels were normal.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 133 drones across the country overnight, including attack drones, targeting northern regions of the country where the Chernobyl plant lies.
Zelensky said the attack was evidence that “Putin is definitely not preparing for negotiations — he is preparing to continue deceiving the world.”