LONDON – Donald Trump sidestepped a direct question at Tuesday evening’s presidential debate on whether he wanted Ukraine to win in its war against Russia, underlining concerns that a second Trump administration could suspend military support for Kyiv, the Guardian reported Wednesday.
Asked directly on whether or not he wants Ukraine to win the war, he did not answer the question and said simply: “I want the war to stop.”
Trump’s remarks will renew concerns in Kiev that he will cut off military and economic aid toward the country if he is reelected at a crucial moment in the war, when Kiev is desperate for troops, financial support and for military hardware, much of it supplied by the US and its NATO allies.
Trump advisers had already suggested that they’re working on a peace deal that Ukraine would be compelled to accept before Trump took power next January if he wins in the November elections. He confirmed that on Tuesday evening, calling Russia’s invasion a “war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president.”
Kamala Harris quickly pounced on his remarks, saying that if Trump had been president during the invasion, then “Putin would be sitting in Kiev with his eyes on the rest of Europe.”
