Ukraine's collapse would be a bigger humiliation for the U.S. than its withdrawal from Afghanistan, former U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said at The Telegraph's podcast on Nov. 13.
"(Donald) Trump highlighted (Joe) Biden's humiliation over Afghanistan… but if he ends up with the collapse of Ukraine, that’ll be a far bigger humiliation for the U.S. and the power of the U.S. in the world," the former foreign secretary said at the Daily T podcast.
U.S. President-elect Trump’s support for Ukraine hangs in the air as analysts and politicians try to gauge his plans to bring peace to Ukraine, as he promised to end the war within "24 hours" after reelection without revealing details.
The U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021 under the Biden administration, ending 20 years of military presence. The Taliban movement quickly overran the country soon after.
"It is in Trump’s best interest, his own best interest, to maintain the strength of the West of these things," said the foreign secretary in David Cameron's cabinet between 2010-2014.
"It’s really worrying that President-elect Trump is coming in with what seems to be a pretty strong view that this can be settled quickly, but settled on terms that would overwhelmingly favor Russia," Hague said, adding that any such freezing of the war along the current front lines would only pave the way for another war, as "Putin would come back for the rest of Ukraine."
Kyiv's allies have been trying to "Trump-proof" their support for Ukraine, with Poland coordinating with the U.K. to maintain the support after Trump takes office in 2025. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk intends to hold talks with his British counterpart Keir Starmer in the coming days.
The Biden administration also plans to increase U.S. military assistance to Ukraine in the final months of its term to give as much support as possible before Trump takes office in January 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Brussels on Nov. 13.
"The lesson of that should not be lost on us now, which is that we should not go soft on (Russia) them now," Hague said, referring to the period of 2014-2015 when Western countries did little to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for his annexation of Crimea and starting a war in eastern Ukraine.
"We should have been more tough then and resolute now," he added.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
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