US threatens Russia with military action if Ukraine peace talks fail as Putin hits Chernobyl with 'high-explosive warhead'

Ahead of talks in Munich today, Vice President JD Vance warned the US would go as far as military action against the Kremlin if Putin fails to engage in peace talks.

World leaders are set to gather in Munich today for the annual security conference, with the future of Ukraine on the table.

"There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage," Vance told the Wall Street Journal.

"There are any number of formulations, of configurations, but we do care about Ukraine having sovereign independence."

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As leaders gathered in Germany, Russia continued to bombard Ukraine, with one drone strike hitting the site of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Taking to X, President Zelenskyy said: “Last night, a Russian attack drone with a high-explosive warhead struck the shelter protecting the world from radiation at the destroyed 4th power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

“This shelter was built by Ukraine together with other countries of Europe and the world, together with America – all those committed to real security for humanity. The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia. This is a terrorist threat to the entire world.

“The shelter at the Chornobyl NPP was damaged by this drone. The fire has been extinguished. As of now, radiation levels have not increased and are being constantly monitored. According to initial assessments, the damage to the shelter is significant.”

Today’s yearly gathering in Germany comes after Donald Trump and his Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth set a new paradigm in the war in Ukraine and broke with decades of US foreign policy on Europe.

Trump announced that he had spoken to Vladimir Putin and would begin negotiations for peace in Ukraine, while Hegseth told European and NATO allies that they would have to begin paying more for the security of their own continent.

This sparked accusations of a betrayal of Ukraine, as the country's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy also insisted that he and his officials would take part in any peace talks.

Some EU leaders hit out at Trump and accused him of appeasement" - similar to western European governments that gave a series of concessions to Nazi Germany in a failed bid to avoid the Second World War.

The UK has sought to tread a fine line between maintaining good relations with the volatile Trump administration and insisting that it remains a staunch supporter of Ukraine.

David Lammy, the UK's Foreign Secretary, will go to the Munich Security Conference with the aim of calming tensions between the US and the EU.

"We can’t spin ourselves up like the Europeans; they have got themselves in a flat spin," a source told the Times.

But without US backing, it is very unlikely that Ukraine could continue to fight.

Speaking after meeting European counterparts, Mr Hegseth said Donald Trump had given him a "clear mission" to "achieve peace through strength as well as put America first".

America's pushback came after Ukraine's president warned the US not to "allow everything to go to Putin's plan" after Trump claimed that he and Vladimir Putin had agreed to start talks on ending the conflict.

The US president held individual calls with the Russian leader and Mr Zelenskyy on Wednesday.

Following the Nato meeting, Secretary General Mark Rutte asserted that "Ukraine will be involved in peace talks" ahead of any international negotiations to end the war with Russia.