US Vice President JD Vance warned that a continued war in Ukraine could lead to catastrophic consequences, including demographic collapse and potential nuclear conflict.

In an interview on the Charlie Kirk Show podcast on 28 April, Vance expressed skepticism about Ukraine’s ability to defeat Russia militarily.

“If this doesn’t stop, the Ukrainians aren’t winning the war,” Vance said.“I think there’s this weird idea among the mainstream media that if this thing goes on for just another few years, the Russians will collapse, the Ukrainians will take their territory back, and everything will go back to the way that it was before the war. That is not the reality that we live in.”

He added that a few more years of war would lead to the “collapse of society” because “the demographics of both countries [Ukraine and Russia] are a real nightmare.”

“If the war continues for a few more years, millions of people could die and it could escalate into a nuclear war. It has to stop,” he claimed.

These statements come amid the US efforts to stop the war in Ukraine. The US President donald Trump vowed to end the war within the first 100 days of his presidency. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 27 April that the next week will determine whether the US remains involved in the peace process or withdraws as a mediator altogether.

The US peace proposal may require Ukraine to make territorial concessions, including formal recognition of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Meanwhile, Kremlin requires international recognition of its illegal annexation of Crimea, and the entirety of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on 28 April.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump recently held a brief meeting at the Vatican on 26 April during memorial ceremonies for Pope Francis.

Following their talks, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is deliberately prolonging the war and not interested in ending it.

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