Vens is targeting Europe while Zelensky calls for the establishment of a European army: key takeaways from the Munich Security Conference.

Vence Critiques Europe

The speech by U.S. Vice President Jay D. Vence overshadowed discussions about the war in Ukraine, sparking lively debates and responses. The senior official accused European governments of suppressing free speech and failing to stop illegal migration.

According to Vence, the greatest threat to Europe does not come from Russia, China, or any other external actor, but from a retreat from its fundamental values. "I am concerned about the threat from within," he emphasized.

As an example, Vence cited the "cancellation of elections" in Romania, which he believes occurred due to "fabricated intelligence suspicions" and "immense pressure" from other European states.

Vence referred to the decision of Romania's Constitutional Court to annul the results of the first round of presidential elections following a warning from intelligence services that the winner—independent candidate Calin Georgescu—had conducted his campaign in violation of the law. Georgescu, who during the presidential race promised to cut aid to Ukraine, later contemplated the division of Ukrainian territory.

"You might think that Russia improperly bought ads on social media to influence your elections. (…) This can even be condemned on the world stage. But if your democracy can be destroyed by a few hundred thousand dollars in digital advertising from another country, then it is not very strong," said the U.S. Vice President.

To criticize the EU's migration policy, Vence recalled an event that occurred the day before the conference in Munich: a 24-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan drove into a crowd of strikers.

According to Vence, no voter on the European continent went to the polls to vote for "open gates for millions of unchecked immigrants."

"And do you know what they will vote for? In Britain, they voted for Brexit. Whether you agree or not, they will vote for that. And more and more across Europe will vote for political leaders who promise to end uncontrolled migration," he speculated.

After the conference, the U.S. Vice President met with the leader of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel.

Additionally, Vence met with another contender for the current German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the upcoming elections—Christian Democratic leader Friedrich Merz. However, he did not meet with Scholz himself, media reported.

Scholz accused Vence of interfering in elections and supporting the far-right, stating that "it is not the business of others to give advice on cooperating with a party that is not collaborated with for a good reason."

The Chancellor of Germany joined those European politicians who responded critically to Vence's statements. His Social Democratic Party colleague and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the U.S. Vice President's words "unacceptable."

"Democracy has just been questioned by the U.S. Vice President—not just the German one, but that of all of Europe. If I understood him correctly, he compares conditions in some parts of Europe to those in authoritarian regimes," Pistorius expressed indignantly.

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaia Kallas, admitted that she got the impression that the U.S. "is trying to sow discord" with Europe. She emphasized: "We do not want to quarrel with our friends."

However, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte saw Vence's speech as highlighting the unity of the U.S. and Europe. In his opinion, the U.S. Vice President hinted at this when he mentioned shared values—freedom of speech and democracy.

At the same time, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who attended the conference, is convinced that Europe needs to hear Vence's comments to understand why far-right parties are gaining popularity and why the British voted to leave the EU.

In Anticipation of Negotiations

The Munich Security Conference began shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to start negotiations to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine must also participate in this process. Trump assured that Ukraine would definitely get "a seat at the table" and added that representatives from three countries would attend the Munich conference.

The Office of the President of Ukraine denied negotiations with the Russians at the Munich Conference. Russia, which was not officially present at the conference, also did not confirm such a meeting.

According to Zelensky, during his conversation with Trump, he told him that Putin is a "liar," as he actually does not want to end the war. On the night before the Munich conference began, a Russian drone strikingly hit a shelter covering the destroyed reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Trump's intentions to quickly end the Russian-Ukrainian war made many recall the Munich Agreement of 1938, which forced Czechoslovakia to cede part of its territory to Germany, Poland, and Hungary. The Ukrainian president emphasized that he would not allow such an agreement regarding Ukraine.

"We will never recognize occupied territories as Russian," Zelensky stressed in a conversation with journalists.

He also expressed the opinion that Ukraine would currently be in a better position and would have lost less territory if military assistance from allies had arrived on time.

At the same time, during a meeting with the American delegation, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine is ready to move towards a real and guaranteed peace "as quickly as possible." Ukraine is now awaiting the visit of U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Kai Kellogg, the president added.

Kellogg participated in the conference and met with the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak. He noted that he would not present a plan to end the war in Munich. According to him, Trump himself would do that later. It was expected that the special envoy would communicate with European leaders and relay the conversation to the American president.

At the Munich Security Conference, Kellogg stated that Europe would not participate in negotiations to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war, as insisted by Ukraine and EU states. However, he added that European interests would be taken into account.

The official explained that Trump inherited the war and therefore wants it to end as soon as possible and for Ukraine to become "a sovereign and secure state." Kellogg is confident that the war in Ukraine can be ended by 2025. In the next 180 days, he promised to "bring all parties" together for this purpose.

According to the special envoy, negotiations to end the war are currently being conducted along two tracks: Russian and American-Ukrainian-allied.

As Kellogg explained, he is responsible for the second track, while the first is handled by the U.S. President's Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Vitkoff, who held successful negotiations with the Russians for the release of an American teacher imprisoned in Russia.

During the discussion at the Munich conference, the special envoy noted that for Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end the war, he should make territorial concessions or refrain from forming an alliance with Iran, North Korea, and China.

Media also reported that before the conference, the U.S. offered Ukraine an agreement under which Americans wish to obtain rights to 50% of mineral reserves in Ukraine.

However, according to Zelensky, the proposed agreement did not meet Ukraine's interests as it lacked security guarantees, so he did not allow it to be signed.

In an official statement, the Office of the President noted that the teams from Ukraine and the United States agreed to continue working on a document regarding economic cooperation.

Ukraine Proposes Creating a European Army

The main theme of Volodymyr Zelensky's speech was the call to create a joint European army. He explained that Europe needs "confidence in its own strength."

"I believe in Europe and urge you to act for yourselves, for your nations, your homes, your children, for our common future," the Ukrainian president emphasized.

This idea seems particularly relevant after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that Washington can no longer "focus primarily" on Europe's security and must now take care of containing China and securing its own borders.

Zelensky noted that without the Ukrainian army, European armed forces would not be able to stop Russia. Earlier, the head of state had already pointed out that the current strength of the Ukrainian army is 880,000 personnel. This makes it the largest on the continent. For comparison, the French army, the largest in the EU, has only 200,000 troops.

Furthermore, the president emphasized that only the Ukrainian army has real combat experience in conducting modern warfare, and therefore Ukraine should join in building the European armed forces.

"But our army alone is also insufficient.