Apparently Vance maintains that outright surrender to Russia is the only
answer, just like it was when Trump surrendered to the Taliban and handed
them Afghanistan on a silver plate.

MOSCOW � The Kremlin�s spokesman on Friday weighed in on the upcoming U.S.
elections, and said Vladimir Putin would prefer a president who is �more
constructive� toward Russia and understands the �importance of the
dialogue.�

Asked during a one-on-one interview whether Putin could work with the
Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump, Dmitry Peskov said
Putin would be ready to work with �anyone who will understand that from now
on, you have to be more careful with Russia and you have to take into
account its concerns.�

During his time in office, Trump commended Putin�s leadership style and was
accused of cozying up to the Russian leader. More recently, he has said
that he appreciated praise from Putin about his plan to resolve the war in
Ukraine within 24 hours, if re-elected.

Peskov did not comment on whether President Joe Biden would fit that bill,
or mention Trump by name. He did question Trump�s claim that he would end
the war in one day, saying it�s �too complicated� to be resolved that
easily.

Peskov also accused the United States and the West of unnecessarily
prolonging the war in Ukraine, and of sending Kyiv conflicting messages
about the support it will receive.
Ukraine Russia War
A Ukrainian soldier walks in a trench near the city of Horlivka in the
eastern Donetsk region.Anatolii Stepanov / AFP via Getty Images

He blamed Washington for throwing billions of taxpayer dollars �into the
wind� by providing military and financial aid to Kyiv � something that, he
said, has failed to achieve much on the battlefield.

�You have to understand your responsibility for this,� Peskov said,
speaking in English. �You are making this conflict longer.�
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Russia, which invaded its smaller neighbor on Feb. 24 last year and
proceeded to illegally annex regions in the east of the country, initially
suffered surprising losses on the battlefield as Ukrainians rallied to
defend their homeland, and the West unified to repel Putin�s forces.

But more recently, the war has sunk into a quagmire, and Kyiv has had to
scramble to secure vital support amid growing disagreements among American
and European lawmakers over just how much longer Ukraine�s allies can
sustain aid deliveries.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy�s last-minute visit to Washington earlier
this week failed to secure a new $61 billion package.

�You are telling them � go and die,� Peskov said of the U.S. �Don�t worry,
we will give you enough money and enough armaments, but you should go and
die. And you know pretty well that they cannot win.�

Peskov cautioned that the world is �less safe than it used to be� before
the dialogue between Washington and Moscow stopped after the invasion,
which the Kremlin calls its �special military operation� in Ukraine. Russia
has criminalized anything perceived by authorities as criticism of the
armed forces, including calling the invasion a �war.� Hundreds have been
arrested or jailed for doing so.

While the offensive remains a special military operation in Russia�s words,
Peskov said that what the West is waging against Russia is indisputably a
war, citing what he called �direct� involvement of foreign countries in the
conflict and Western economic sanctions against Russia.

�If it�s not a war, then how would you like to call it?� Peskov said. �We
call it war.�