In their first public meeting since their historic Oval Office blow-up, Vice President JD Vance shook hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They then had a “good meeting” at the US ambassador to Italy’s home.
Vance and Zelensky smiled as they welcomed one another during their brief encounter on Sunday during Pope Leo XIV’s first official service at St. Peter’s Basilica. Usha Vance, the second woman, greeted Zelensky beside her husband.
Zelensky was sitting next to Vance, next to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. Together with fellow Catholic Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vance led the US delegation.
A spokesman for the vice president said that after that meeting, Vance and Zelensky had a private meeting at the Villa Taverna, the home of the US ambassador to Italy. Rubio and Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Office of the President, joined them.
The two discussed Zelensky’s desire for the United States to increase sanctions against Russia and the current attempts to put an end to the brutal conflict in Ukraine.
“We discussed negotiations in Istanbul to where the Russians sent a low level delegation of non-decision-makers,” Zelensky later revealed on X. “I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible.”
He added: “We have also touched upon the need for sanctions against Russia, bilateral trade, defense cooperation, battlefield situation and upcoming prisoners exchange.”
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched one of the biggest drone strikes in history on Sunday, hitting over 273 drones that pounded the central Kyiv region, the Donetsk region, and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The savage assault occurred just days after the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, which resulted in an agreement to swap 1,000 POWs.
The larger ceasefire agreement that was originally desired was not reached during those negotiations in Turkey.
The final encounter between Zelensky and Vance resulted in chaos.
When the Ukrainian leader attempted to convince the vice president of the unreliability of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the two engaged in a verbal sparring match in front of the television cameras during Zelensky’s visit to the White House on February 28 to negotiate a mineral rights agreement and other matters.
Zelensky lectured the veep on Putin’s lengthy history of breaching international accords after Vance emphasized the value of talks. Additionally, he questioned how Ukraine could have faith in the results of any negotiations with the Kremlin.
“You should be thanking the president for wanting to bring an end to the conflict,” the vice president said, calling it “disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
President Trump added his support for Vance.
Zelensky once referred to Vance as “too radical” during the 2024 campaign for supporting a war-ending strategy that would have required Ukraine to give up large areas of its land.
Since then, Ukraine has attempted to put an end to the brutal conflict and has backed the Trump administration’s call for a ceasefire, which Russia has opposed. Vance has admitted in public that Moscow’s demands are excessive.
“Right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” Vance said at an event earlier this month organized by individuals who put together the annual Munich Security Conference.
Trump met Zelensky briefly last month at St. Peter’s Basilica while attending the late Pope Francis’ funeral.