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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Karolina Wigura and Jarosław Kuisz

JD Vance’s traumatic past doesn’t explain his bullying of Ukraine: his ‘might is right’ doctrine does

Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office, 28 February 2025. Photograph: ABACA/Rex/Shutterstock

Even before the shocking treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, the US had voted with Russia in the UN. Alarm bells about the security threat now facing Europe were already ringing during JD Vance’s speech in Munich in February, when he questioned the point of defending Europe’s liberal democracies from Russia.

For the countries surrounding Russia, this is not just about impertinence or failing diplomacy but about potentially being wiped off the map.

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