Free Republic

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the U.S. would hit Moscow with sanctions and potentially military action if Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence. Vance said the option of sending U.S. troops to Ukraine if Moscow failed to negotiate in good faith remained “on the table,” striking a far tougher tone than did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who on Wednesday suggested the U.S. wouldn’t commit forces. “There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” the U.S. could use against Putin, Vance said....

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Ukraine would participate "one way or another" in any talks to end the war, but there would be a separate US-Russian track to the talks, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Another agency, Interfax, quoted Peskov as saying that preparation for a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump could take up to several months, but both sides agreed the Saudi capital Riyadh was a suitable location.