Zelenskyy says US, including Biden administration, never saw Ukraine being part of NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States, including the Biden administration, never saw Ukraine as a NATO member.
Zelenskyy made the comments while speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Munich ahead of a planned meeting with Vice President JD Vance.
“I heard so many times from the American side, by the way, Biden’s administration and now from President Trump. I heard a lot of messages from them by phone. My first phone call with President Biden and my first question, will we be in NATO? He said, no, no. And I said, we will see,” Zelenskyy said.
“But to be very honest, United States, they never saw us in NATO. They just spoke about it. But they really didn’t want us in NATO. It’s true,” Zelenskyy added.
Zelenskyy reiterated that if they cannot join NATO, they will build their own version within Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he doesn’t “want to be that person in history who helped Putin to occupy my country.”
Vance criticizes European allies, argues there’s a global shift to the right
In remarks to the Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance made the argument to European lawmakers to pay attention to the interests of conservative voters as he criticized the continent’s handling of defense spending, migration and censorship.
“The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said.
Vance largely skirted around one of the biggest issues of the global conference: Ukraine. He briefly said that the White House believes they can “come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine,” but focused more on defense spending and issues of censorship and democracy.
Vance seemed to know that his remarks might bristle some in the audience. One Ukrainian member of parliament described it as “the total humiliation of all European leaders.”
“People in the room are shocked,” Oleksiy Honcharenko said in a post on X. “For most of Vance’s speech, the European leaders and bureaucrats looked at each other, and there was almost no applause.”
Judge to consider continuing to block DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment systems
A federal judge in Manhattan on Friday will consider whether to continue blocking Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment systems that could supercharge his efforts to cut federal spending.
The attorneys general from 19 states have argued that allowing Musk’s associates to access the payment system would be a “huge cybersecurity risk” and potentially allow the Trump administration to unlawfully “block federal funds from reaching beneficiaries who do not align with the President’s political agenda.”
“All of the States’ residents whose [personal identifiable information] and sensitive financial information is stored in the payment files that reside within the payment systems are at risk of having that information compromised and used against them,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit comes as Musk’s cost-cutting army has gained access to at least 16 federal agencies. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order that gave DOGE additional authority to help carry out massive layoffs across the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Jeanette Vargas said there was “sound factual basis” for the temporary restraining order when it was imposed late last week. Vargas will consider granting a preliminary injunction to block DOGE’s access to the systems at a 2 p.m. hearing.
Hegseth stands by comments on Ukraine not joining NATO
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday he stands by his comments from Brussels earlier this week on it being unrealistic for Ukraine to be offered NATO membership as part of a settlement, for it to regain its pre-2014 territory, or for U.S. troops to enter the country to keep the peace.
“My job today, and in Brussels, was to introduce realism to the conversation – the reality that returning to 2014 borders as part of a negotiated settlement is unlikely; the reality of U.S. troops in Ukraine is unlikely; the reality of Ukraine membership in NATO as a part of a negotiated settlement unlikely. And I stand by the comments that I made on that first day in the Ukraine Contact Group,” Hegseth said at a press conference in Poland Friday.
Hegseth was much more definitive on Wednesday in Belgium, taking the idea of U.S. boots on the ground off the table.
“To be clear as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine,” he said on Wednesday.
However, on Friday, Vance said the option of sending U.S. troops to Ukraine if Moscow failed to negotiate in good faith remained “on the table,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
Fate of Russia-Ukraine war takes spotlight
The fate of the Russia-Ukraine war is set to take the spotlight on Friday as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to meet later Friday afternoon in Munich.
Originally scheduled to meet Friday morning, a member of the Ukrainian delegation confirmed to ABC News that their meeting will now take place after 5 p.m. local time in Munich (11 a.m. ET).
Ukrainian officials have presented adjustments to a U.S. plan to gain access to Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for $500 billion in weapons and ammunition. The plan was initially presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv two days ago.
Zelenskyy says US, including Biden administration, never saw Ukraine being part of NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States, including the Biden administration, never saw Ukraine as a NATO member.
Zelenskyy made the comments while speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Munich ahead of a planned meeting with Vice President JD Vance.
“I heard so many times from the American side, by the way, Biden’s administration and now from President Trump. I heard a lot of messages from them by phone. My first phone call with President Biden and my first question, will we be in NATO? He said, no, no. And I said, we will see,” Zelenskyy said.
