Overview

• On Fox News Sunday, Vice President J.D. Vance told Moscow to “wake up and accept reality” and enter serious talks, faulting Russia for refusing recent bilateral or trilateral meetings with Ukraine.
• He argued Russia is paying heavy human and economic costs and has little battlefield progress to show, framing those realities as driving the president’s recent tone.
• Just hours before Vance’s remarks, Russia carried out one of the war’s largest aerial assaults, striking Kyiv and other regions and killing at least four people, according to Reuters.
• At the United Nations last week, President Trump said Ukraine can win, urged NATO allies to shoot down Russian aircraft violating their airspace, and pledged continued U.S. weapons supplies to NATO.
• Vance declined to endorse transferring Tomahawk long-range missiles to Ukraine, saying the president will make that call, and he voiced cautious optimism about efforts toward a Gaza ceasefire.