Blinken reaffirms US support for Ukraine amidst election fears
Ukraine is on its way to being able to "stand on its own feet militarily" as Western countries continue expand support for Kyiv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 19.
The Republican nominee in the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump, has repeatedly pledged to end the war within 24 hours, which could, according to some reports, include forcing Ukraine to cede territory. Trump has also criticized aid for Ukraine in the past, and his sway over the Republican Party contributed to delays in U.S. assistance earlier this year.
Secretary Blinken stated that U.S. aid to Ukraine holds strong bipartisan support in Congress and "any administration will take account of that."
He also emphasized that increased Western backing is putting Ukraine on the trajectory of being able to "stand on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically." For example, the U.S. official highlighted the fact that over 20 countries announced bilateral security agreements with Ukraine during the last NATO summit.
"And that means that all of these countries, including the United States, have committed to help Ukraine for the next decade build up its deterrent capacity, build up its defenses," Blinken said. "Now, if we were to renege on that, I suppose that’s possible. But happily, we have another 20-some odd countries – and we’re heading to more than 30 – that will be doing the same thing. These are long-term commitments to Ukraine."
Earlier this week, President Zelensky and Donald Trump held a phone call to discuss the future of U.S. aid. Zelensky previosly said that dealing with a Trump presidency would be "hard work, but we (Ukrainians) are hard workers."
According to official reports, the two leaders agreed on plans for a future "personal meeting" to discuss creating peace with Moscow during the phone call.
