CNN —
Ukraine and its allies will be at the whim of American voters once again next year if the winner of the US election is not as enthusiastic about defending democracy on the European continent as President Joe Biden has been over the last fifteen months.
Former President Donald Trump, the GOP frontrunner, has refused to say whether he believes Ukraine should win the war against Russia, and his main challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has hedged on the conflict, describing Russia’s unprovoked invasion as a “territorial” dispute.
Asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Thursday about Trump’s comments, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak highlighted “strong support” in the US for funding Ukraine, adding that his meetings with congressional leaders in both parties this week indicated a willingness to support the country’s ongoing efforts to defend itself amid Russian aggression.
“Obviously, it wouldn’t be right for me to comment on domestic politics here. But I did spend a good amount of time in Congress yesterday talking to leaders from both parties, and I think there is strong support for the efforts that America is putting in to support Ukraine,” Sunak said in an exclusive interview at the presidential guest residence Blair House, moments after meeting with Biden.
“I think there’s an acknowledgment, as I said, that the values that we’re fighting for are universal. They’re values that America has always stood up for, which is democracy, freedom and the rule of law,” he added.
In apparent nod to Trump, who has bemoaned that NATO countries were not meeting the security alliances’ spending commitment of 2% of their GDP, Sunak added: “I think it’s entirely reasonable for people to ask: is everybody doing their bit? I’m proud to say the UK is. Behind the US, we’re the next largest contributor to the effort to support Ukraine. And more broadly, when it comes to defense spending, we’re one of the few countries that invests 2% of our GDP in defense.”
It is a position he has spoken to other leaders about, he said. “I think it’s reasonable and right that we expect other countries in the NATO alliance to increase defense spending up to those levels. And that’s something that I speak to other leaders about as well,” Sunak replied.
Despite two changes in its leadership in the past 12 months, the UK has remained at the forefront of nations supporting Ukraine, coming second in total financial support only to the United States.
Under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the UK pushed European and other Western allies to supply Ukraine with lethal defense systems and tanks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly thanked Johnson for this, with Ukrainians going so far as to rename streets in Kyiv after the former British leader.
Sunak has continued with this policy, most recently pressing allies to push forward in supplying Ukraine with fighter jets.
His talks with Biden come at a turning point in the Russia-Ukraine war, following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam and ahead of a widely expected counteroffensive meant to retake territory.
In his news conference on Thursday, Biden also said he was confident that Congress would continue providing support for Ukraine.
“The fact of the matter is that I believe we’ll have the funding necessary to support Ukraine as long as it takes,” Biden said. “I believe that we’re going to get that support, it will be real.”