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J.D. Vance, the Republican candidate for the Senate in Ohio, has said Ukraine and its allies need to get to "the negotiation table" to stop Russia launching a nuclear attack.
Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy, made the remarks on Fox News on Tuesday, during a conversation about his televised debate with his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan.
In the Monday night debate, Vance had said "nobody knows" what the best response would be if President Vladimir Putin decided to deploy nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Ryan suggested there would need to be a "strong" reaction.
On Tuesday, Vance told Fox News that the idea of retaliating with nuclear weapons was "crazy." The Republican also criticized President Joe Biden's continuing support of Ukraine, which includes billions of dollars in military aid.
"What does that mean? Does it mean we're launching nuclear weapons ourselves, then we're ending human civilization?" Vance asked.
"The only responsible thing to do is try to bring this conflict to an end before it gets to the point of nuclear weapons. You can believe, as I do, that Ukrainians are brave people and that Vladimir Putin is a bad guy, without pushing the United States to the brink of nuclear war.
"What Biden, what Tim Ryan, what these guys are doing, is incredibly irresponsible."
Newsweek has contacted Tim Ryan for comment.
A number of Republicans have called for negotiations to end the conflict, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. They include former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Vance in Ohio.
Trump has previously suggested that Ukraine could have "given up" the territory of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, or agreed not to join NATO as part of the negotiations.
During their TV debate, Ryan suggested Vance would let Putin "roll right through Ukraine" in order to stop the conflict.
The White House National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, has downplayed any suggestion that Kyiv's allies will push for it to give away territory to Moscow.
"Mr Putin started this war and Mr Putin could end it today—simply by moving his troops out of the country," Kirby told ABC News' This Week on Sunday.
Kirby, the U.S. military's top spokesperson, also downplayed concerns about the risk of "nuclear armageddon" following remarks by the president at a Democratic fundraiser in New York City. Biden said Putin's rhetoric had placed the world at its highest risk of a nuclear attack since the Cuban missile crisis.
"His comments were not based on new or fresh intelligence, or new indications that Mr Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons and, quite frankly, we don't have any indication that he has made that kind of decision," Kirby said.
In a CNN interview broadcast on Tuesday night, Biden added that he did not actually think Putin would launch nuclear weapons in Ukraine. "But I think that it's irresponsible for him to talk about it."
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more