This week, Vice President Vance called on Russia and Ukraine to 'put down their weapons' and 'get on with the business of building a better Russia and a better Ukraine'

Vice President JD Vance said the U.S. would withdraw from the Russia - Ukraine peace talks if the two sides didn't agree.

He said the only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine .

Ukrainian -language schools dropped from 555 to just six by the end of 2014 .

Ukraine 's insistence that Ukraine won't recognize the occupation of Crimea doesn't make sense.

Russia has already been in firm control of Crimea for over 11 years , and the area is fully Russified.

A poison pill strategy will only prolong the conflict - without American involvement.

Markets rallied Wednesday on President Trump 's tariff de-escalation signals but faded into the close.

The S&P 500 rose 1.7% , while crude oil dropped 2.2% , and the 10-year yield held steady at 4.39% . Mixed earnings from IBM , Chipotle , and ServiceNow add to the uncertainty heading into Thursday .

Existing Home Sales ( March ) is a key indicator of overall economic strength.