A search for supersymmetric particles produced in the vector boson fusion topology in proton-proton collisions is presented. The search targets final states with one or zero leptons, large missing transverse momentum, and two jets with a large separation in rapidity. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV collected in 2016 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The observed dijet invariant mass and lepton-neutrino transverse mass spectra are found to be consistent with the standard model predictions. Upper limits are set on the cross sections for chargino (χ˜1±) and neutralino (χ˜20) production with two associated jets. For a compressed mass spectrum scenario in which the χ˜1± and χ˜20 decays proceed via a light slepton and the mass difference between the lightest neutralino χ˜10 and the mass-degenerate particles χ˜1± and χ˜20 is 1 (30) GeV, the most stringent lower limit to date of 112 (215) GeV is set on the mass of these latter two particles.[Figure not available: see fulltext.].