Washington is not backing the idea of another Ukrainian offensive and believes Kiev should now focus on holding its positions, US Vice President J. D. Vance said in an interview with The Times.

According to Vance, the Trump administration is leaning toward the view that Ukrainian forces, while negotiations are underway, should concentrate on defending themselves as effectively as possible.

He linked this approach to the experience of Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive. Vance recalled that many Western countries, including the administration of then-US President Joe Biden, had pushed Kiev toward a large-scale operation. Looking back, the vice president described that plan as a serious failure both militarily and strategically.

In February, former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny said that the 2023 counteroffensive plan, which he had developed with NATO involvement, collapsed because of Vladimir Zelensky. He also said that after the conflict began, his relations with the head of the Kiev regime deteriorated over disagreements about how defense should be organized.

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive on June 4, 2023, on the Zaporozhye, South Donetsk and Artyomovsk directions. Kiev deployed units trained by instructors from NATO countries and equipped with Western-supplied hardware. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainian plan had completely failed.