Ukraine will work with ‘any reality’ after US elections

Ukraine will work with whoever wins the US presidential election later this year, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told AFP on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

With former US president Donald Trump the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination, there are fears Washington’s policy on Ukraine would change if he wins.

With Congress already divided on giving more arms to Ukraine, some worry Trump will have even less appetite to support Kyiv.

But Kuleba appeared sanguine about any Trump victory.

“I will accept the opinion of the people of the United States, and we will work with any reality that will follow the elections,” he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump know and “respect each other”, Kuleba added, after the annual “Davos Ukrainian Breakfast” event in the Swiss Alpine resort.

Trump may not be physically at Davos but his potential victory has come up during many private and public discussions at the forum.

Kuleba also called on the West to ramp up its support to Ukraine. “The issue is to scale up and ensure sustainability,” he said.

Kyiv has said the priority for 2024 is to gain control over its skies in its fight against Moscow’s forces, and Kuleba said Ukraine needed more air defence systems.

There was also a need for “electronic warfare to suppress Russian missiles and planes, F-16s and other Western planes with a sufficient amount of rockets they can fire”, he added.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told AFP that the “essential part of Ukrainian success and victory is that the West remains united in its support”.

Asked about the US elections, he said, “I think the United States will remain committed to support Ukraine”.

Penny Pritzker, the US envoy for Ukraine’s economic recovery, insisted during the event that there was bipartisan support for Ukraine in Washington.

“The United States has to live up to its commitments to Ukraine, which I believe it will,” she said.

Zelensky appeared in person at Davos for the first time since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 to drum up support and counter any war fatigue as the conflict approaches its second anniversary.

Kuleba hailed the “optimistic mood” in Davos and Ukraine’s “productive” meetings with politicians and investors, which he believed would translate into more financial aid.

“People are willing to invest more in Ukraine’s victory. People believe in Ukraine.”

The breakfast event was attended by many top European officials, with a panel featuring Plenkovic, Polish President Andrzej Duda and British Foreign Minister David Cameron.

During the panel, Duda warned the West it must be prepared for the long haul in its support to Ukraine to fight against Russian aggression.

“We have to be prepared for a long march in which we will take care of the security of our citizens, support Ukraine in its struggle across the board,” Duda said, pulling no punches in his comments on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

“Without any doubt, Putin decided to set the world on fire.”

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AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)