– Hope you understand – Dagsavisen

The Kremlin and Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, and the Ukrainians have been fighting the Russians ever since. Ukraine has stressed the importance of continued support from the US and the West.

But will there be a complete halt to Ukraine support from the US if Donald Trump beats incumbent President Joe Biden in the November 5 election? Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski believes the answer is not as black and white as people might think.

– The picture is more nuanced than that. For example, Donald Trump was absolutely right when he asked countries in Europe to spend more money on their own defence. In addition, Trump sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine before the war, Sikorski points out to Politico.

Poland also spends 4 per cent of GDP on defence, double the NATO minimum target, and has proposed that the minimum target should be raised to 3 per cent. Politico writes that there are several signs that Poland is embarking on a charm offensive against Trump, in case he wins the US election. Recently, the ex-president met the Polish president Andrzej Duda in New York.

Also read: Professors: – Europe, not NATO, must send forces to Ukraine

Thinks Ukraine resistance will punish Trump

Radoslaw Sikorski’s recent black-and-white gambit contrasts with statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who said in March that Trump would not give a penny to Ukraine if he beats Biden in the US election. These statements came after Orban visited Trump in Florida.

But Sikorski, for his part, points out that Donald Trump has not publicly objected to the recent aid package from the US to Ukraine. The package is worth 61 billion dollars.

– Therefore, I hope that presidential candidate Trump understands that his opposition to Ukraine aid is not popular in the United States. Such opposition will, on the contrary, damage his chances (of being re-elected), the foreign minister believes.

Dagsavisen has previously written about what several people refer to as a possible “Trump protection” of Europe, with European countries thinking more about their own security in light of possible weakened US support.

– Can the EU become “Trump-secured”? It remains to be seen, but it is important to think carefully about this question, Carl Bildt, former Prime Minister of Sweden, has written on https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/1753505408579154275.

Also read: Trump ally with a message to Ukraine: – Just forget it

Trump and Putin

Russia expert Fiona Hill, former Trump adviser in the White House, has been on the same track as Poland’s foreign minister when it comes to Trump and Ukraine. Hill has previously said that it is not a given that Trump will “give” Ukraine to Vladimir Putin if he (Trump, journ.amn.) wins the election.

If things seem to be going badly for the West and Ukraine, Hill believes that Trump will make it easier for Putin. If, on the other hand, things go badly for Russia in Ukraine, it is possible that Trump will continue his support for the Ukrainians.

– Everything is about what Trump thinks will present him in the best possible light at that time, Hill has stated. At the same time, she has also emphasized the need for Europe to think more about its own security.

Donald Trump himself commented on the Ukraine situation earlier in April. Trump did not announce support for the aid package, but neither did the opposite. He used most of a post on his platform Truth Social to criticize European countries for not contributing enough to Ukraine, according to NTB.

– Why can’t Europe contribute as much as the USA to provide the help the country so desperately needs? Everyone agrees that Ukrainian strength and survival should be more important to Europe than to us. But it is also important for us, hammered the former president and ended the post with EUROPE, PICK UP THE SPEED!

Also read: Russia expert: – Putin will never give it up

Also read: Trump’s ex-advisor to Dagsavisen: This is what he is like behind the scenes (+)

Also read: Putin receives a NATO warning from Poland: – You will lose that war

—

Facts about the war in Ukraine

• Russia and President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine with large forces on February 24, 2022.
• Russian forces and Russian-backed separatists previously controlled the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Ukrainian counties of Donetsk and Luhansk.
• Since the invasion, Russian forces have taken control of even more areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. The Russian-occupied areas now make up around 18 percent of the country.
• The fronts in the war have largely been deadlocked since autumn 2022.
• Ukraine’s and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s stated goal is to recapture all Russian-occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
• Western countries support Ukraine with large amounts of weapons and military equipment.
• Neither Ukraine nor Russia state how many soldiers they lose on the battlefield. It is estimated that up to 500,000 soldiers have been killed and wounded in the war, and the majority of these are said to be Russian.
• The UN has registered over 10,000 civilians killed in Ukraine, but the real number is probably much higher.
• 6.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the invasion, and another 3.7 million are internally displaced.

(Sources: UN, The New York Times, NTB)

—

Keep yourself updated. Get a daily newsletter from Dagsavisen