Vance says US urged Ukraine to go on defense as NATO commends Kyiv for taking fight to Russia

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance claimed Monday the White House helped slam the brakes on Russia’s offensive by urging Ukraine to play defense — as European leaders back Kyiv’s intensified efforts to strike deep inside Russia.“The Russians, they’re paying a lot for every square kilometer they get.And I think that’s because the United States and NATO have encouraged Ukraine to be more focused on defense — and that’s proven effective,” he told the Times of London.Instead of launching counteroffensives into Russia-occupied Ukrainian land, Vance said “the Trump administration has leaned into” Ukrainians being “maximally defensive.”“It’s allowed Ukraine to exploit a little bit more of their tactical advantage,” he said.

“Frankly, the Russians are in a place right now where the amount that they can get through continued [Russian] offensive operations is vanishingly small — and getting close to zero.“That very well may create the space that we need to bring this thing to a close,” he added.President Trump echoed the optimism on Monday, saying the war is getting “much closer than people realize” to ending.“President Putin wants it to end, I will tell you that very strongly,” he said, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wants it to end “now.”Ukrainian ambassador Olha Stefanishyna told The Post that Kyiv is grateful that Washington is seeing the state of the conflict through clear eyes, but was unaware of efforts to discourage Kyiv from going on the offensive.“We appreciate the public outreach related to the real situation on the ground,” she said.“It is important that the US government has the same assessment based on the information at their disposal.”Vance’s remarks came as Ukraine continues its largest-ever campaign of long-range drone attacks inside Russia — a strategy many European leaders openly support.Zelensky on June 25 announced a 40-day push announced June 25 to “compel...