Ukraine defended the right to defend in court the non-return of “Yanukovych’s debt” to Russia

The presumptive candidates for the position of president of the United States from the Republican Party in the elections of 2024 have diametrically opposite views on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Some say they support Ukraine, because its struggle is the struggle of the entire free world against dictatorship, which is the position of the leadership of the Republican Party in Congress, some others call this war a “territorial dispute” and demand that the resources spent by the United States to help Ukraine solving internal problems.

Donald Trump

The position of the previous US president is well covered in the media Donald Trump, who believes that if he had remained in power, “Russia would definitely not have attacked Ukraine.” Trump is convinced that the war began “due to a new lack of respect for the United States” and the mistakes of the current president, Joe Biden. He believes that the war should end “immediately”.

The ex-president also demands that the Europeans pay “at least as much as the US pays for aid to Ukraine,” and “they should pay us the difference retroactively.”

Former President Trump goes on to say that Ukraine needs to be told that “a little bit more money will come from us” “if Russia doesn’t continue to pursue the war” and that “the right president” should meet with both sides and “work out a deal quickly.”

Trump wrote about it in response to the question of the popular host of the Fox News TV channel, Tucker Carlson, which addressed the major Republican presidential candidates in the next presidential election. Carlson posted the answer to each of them on his Twitter page.

Ron Desantis

The American press reacted the most to the words of the governor of the state of Florida Ron Desantis, who is Trump’s most likely challenger for the Republican presidential nomination. He called the Russian invasion of Ukraine a “territorial dispute.” Desantis also believes that protecting Ukraine, which is far from America in Europe, is not a vital US interest.

“The Biden administration’s funding of this conflict with an ‘unlimited check’ of ‘as much as needed’ without any defined goals or accountability distracts from our nation’s most pressing challenges,” Desantis wrote in response to Carlson’s question.

“Our citizens also have the right to know how billions of US taxpayer dollars are being used in Ukraine,” Desantis adds.

The governor of Florida believes that “the goal should be peace,” and therefore “the United States should not provide assistance that may require the deployment of American troops or allow Ukraine to participate in offensive operations outside its borders.” Desantis excludes the possibility of providing Ukraine with F-16 aircraft and long-range missiles. This, in his opinion, would avert the danger of involving the US in a conflict with Russia, “a hot war between the two largest nuclear powers in the world.”

Desantis believes that Washington is now pursuing a “policy of regime change in Russia”, and this, they say, will not lead to a change in policy in Moscow. And in addition, according to the governor of Florida, China will benefit from the war, which receives cheap Russian fuel.

Desantis also believes that “with his deliberate depletion of the strategic oil reserve and his support for the left-wing Green New Deal, Biden has further strengthened Russia’s energy-dominated economy and Putin’s military machine at the expense of the Americans.”

Mike Pence

in return Mike Pencea former vice president of the United States in the administration of President Donald Trump, supports the official party line followed by Republicans in Congress – to help Ukraine to victory. In his answers he refers on the continuity of such a policy of the republicans.

He says Russian President Vladimir Putin has “revealed his true nature as a dictator” who seeks conquest and is willing to sacrifice thousands of lives for his desire to “restore the Great Russian Empire”.

“When the United States supports Ukraine in their fight against Putin, we are following the Reagan Doctrine, and we are supporting those who are fighting our enemies on their soil so that we don’t have to fight them ourselves. There is no place for Putin’s apologists in the Republican Party. This is not America’s war, but if Putin is not stopped and quickly restored to the sovereign nation of Ukraine, he will continue to move toward our NATO allies, and then America will have to send in its troops,” Pence wrote.

“Anyone who thinks Putin will stop at the Ukrainian border doesn’t understand who Putin is,” Pence added and said that by helping Ukraine, the US is sending a signal to China about its possible intentions to invade Taiwan.

In his post, he says that the victory of Ukraine would be “the restoration of its sovereignty as soon as possible” and the establishment of peace.

Like many of his Republican colleagues in Congress, Pence has criticized the current administration of Joe Biden for its slow response.

“Unfortunately, the Biden administration has been slow to provide assistance to Ukraine, any response has been too slow, from providing Ukraine with intelligence, applying sanctions against Russia, and ending with providing Ukraine with military equipment and fighter jets,” Pence believes.

As for the funding, Pence says oversight of spending is needed, but “refusing or reducing support will have consequences: if Putin is not stopped now and he moves into NATO-controlled territory, the cost will be much greater.” He also believes that sanctions against Russia could be “tougher”.

“Russia is now supported by China, and if China stops its support, Putin may run out of money by 2024; Russia does not have a strong economic position. This war is costing Russia its economy, its military prowess, its position on the world stage, and it is costing lives,” Pence believes.

Chris Christie

Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey and a candidate for the post of US president, believes that the efforts of Washington and allies “are not aimed at regime change in Russia”, but on the contrary – “it is about respect for the sovereignty of free nations”.

“Our goal is to help Ukraine sufficiently so that it can defeat Russian forces and restore its sovereignty,” the governor of the state of New Jersey explains his position.

The rest are likely candidates

Responses sent to the Fox News anchor by other potential candidates lean more in favor of Disantos. This is the position Viveka Ramaswamy of Ohio State, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noemhas a similar position Texas Governor Greg Abbottand South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

As Tucker Carlson points out, his question has not been answered yet Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Aza Hutchinson, John Bolton and Chris Sununu.

Why is the attention focused on the words of Desantis?

The Washington Post notes that Desantis’ position drew the most interest because it came amid growing divisions in the Republican Party over US policy toward Ukraine and the need to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As the newspaper notes, some Republicans, in particular, the minority leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell, argue that a sovereign Ukraine is in the long-term interests of the United States. Journalists note that last month’s Munich Security Conference was attended by a significant delegation of members of the US Congress, and Republicans were adamant that they support US leadership in NATO.

“Leaders in my party overwhelmingly support a strong, engaged America and a strong transatlantic alliance,” McConnell said in Munich. “Don’t look at Twitter. Look at the people in power. Look at me and Speaker Kevin McCarthy.’

As “Voice of America” ​​reported, at the beginning of March, the speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress is a Republican Kevin McCarthy refused the offer of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi to visit Kyiv.

He said that he does not need to go to Ukraine to assess the situation, because his position remains unchanged. He criticized the actions of the White House, and President Joe Biden in particular, for delaying aid to Ukraine, but at the same time advocated strict accountability of the support provided to Ukrainians. He added that he opposes the “automatic” approval of unlimited aid packages in Congress, which some Republicans call “blank checks.”

Marco Rubio

Senator from Florida Marco Rubio, who has run for president in the past, has opposed what Desantis calls a “territorial dispute.”

Russia’s war in Ukraine is the largest war in Europe in more than 80 years, since World War II, and for the United States it is a “national security issue,” Senator Rubio said Tuesday, March 14, on the Hugh Hewitt Show radio program.

According to Rubio, Russia’s ultimate goal is to remove the Ukrainian government and control Ukraine. The senator added that this war should not be compared to other conflicts or territorial disputes that can be resolved by treaty or peace agreement.

“This is not a territorial dispute. […] “Just because someone claims something doesn’t mean they own it,” Rubio said. – “Actually, it’s more about the desire to dominate your neighbor, to have him as part of your sphere of influence, and not so much about the land.”

As “Voice of America” ​​reported, in Congress, a part of Republicans expressing right-wing political views is in favor of ending support for Ukraine, but, according to a Republican congressman Mike Turnerwho chairs the House Intelligence Committee, calls from some of his peers to end U.S. support for Ukraine do not reflect the views of most lawmakers.

“The majority in Congress understand that this is critically important. We are fighting on the front lines of democracy, Turner said in an interview with CNN.

In an interview with the CBS TV channel, the Republican congressman Michael McCall, who heads the Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that an absolute majority in both parties supports aid to Ukraine. But people need to constantly explain and remind why America supports Ukraine.

“We have factions of the left and the right that do not support Ukraine, and this will probably continue. I think we should explain to them where the money goes. As you know, there are currently four audits on the financing of Ukraine. And we must explain why Ukraine is so important,” McCall said.

According to a survey by the Associated Press agency and the NORC Public Opinion Research Center, which was published on February 15, support for Ukraine among Americans has slightly decreased. 48% were in favor of the US providing weapons to Ukraine, 29% of respondents were against, and 22% said they were neither for nor against.

According to another Gallup poll released on February 5, the number of Americans who want the United States to support Ukraine’s return of its territory, even if it leads to a prolonged conflict, remained steady at 65% of adults.