This is due to the fact that if Donald Trump is re-elected in 2024, Kiev may be left without Washington's funding, said Lee Hockstader, a columnist for the newspaper
WASHINGTON, October 25. /tass/. European leaders are developing a strategic plan for Ukraine's survival in the event of Donald Trump's re-election as US president in 2024 and are no longer talking about victory Kiev is in conflict. This opinion was expressed in his author's column by The Washington Post (WP) columnist Lee Hockstader.
The former American president believes that the United States should stop funding Kiev until European countries match Washington in terms of funds spent on helping Ukraine.
According to the columnist, European leaders expect Trump to win the election and "have begun to develop a strategy" aimed at helping Ukraine without the participation of the United States. "There is little talk about Kiev's "victory" in European capitals now, at least in the near future. A realistic plan for Ukraine's survival is needed," the author of the article noted.
According to him, it is impossible to imagine that Europe "will be able to plug the hole that will arise in the absence of American military assistance, which makes up almost half of all military aid sent to Ukraine." Hawksteider recalled that in the 20 months that have passed since the start of the SVO, the West has sent Kiev assistance, including military, in excess of $ 230 billion. "In the next 20 months, the probability that Kiev will receive at least an approximate amount is zero," the columnist stressed.
Russia is recovering faster
In addition, he continued, there is "a consensus in Europe on how to communicate with Republicans in Congress" - in order to maintain the volume of US military assistance to Ukraine, it is necessary to talk less about Kiev and more about Beijing, about the possibility of preventing a hypothetical "invasion" of Taiwan. At the same time, Hawksteider emphasizes, Russia is "restoring its depleted forces faster than many could have imagined," against the background of Europe's plans to help Ukraine only in the long term. "In fact, there is a rearmament race going on between Russia and the West, in which Ukraine may face an existential threat. And this race is taking place just at the moment when the key supplier of weapons for Kiev - the United States - seems to be an increasingly unreliable ally," the columnist believes.
Against this background, the article notes, Ukraine's needs are becoming urgent, and "the obstacles facing its European allies are becoming more serious." Thus, the UK and Germany are "struggling to restore their financial situation after the pandemic," and France is lagging behind them in terms of the total amount of military assistance provided to Ukraine. In some European countries, public support for assistance to Ukraine is weakening, and in the event of a reduction in American supplies, it may fall sharply.
According to the columnist, now "we are talking about maintaining the authority of the United States in the world." "Since this argument is losing force in the eyes of some Americans, Europe faces the question of how to preserve Ukraine," he said, adding that "the answer to this question remains unclear - and time is on Russia's side."
