(Reuters) – Ukraine is confident of continued U.S. support regardless of who wins next week’s presidential election, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Thursday, citing what he called strong bipartisan support.
Earlier this month Donald Trump blamed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for helping start the war with Russia, a comment that further suggests the Republican is likely to decrease U.S. support for Ukraine if he wins.
“We have strong bipartisan support, both Republicans and Democrats. And of course, we have strong support of American people,” Sybiha, speaking in English, told reporters in Montreal when asked about the election result.
“I would like to emphasize that support to Ukraine, it is not a charity, (it’s) a contribution in trans-Atlantic security, and we are confident that this support will be continued,” he said at the end of a conference discussing the return of Ukrainians detained by Russia.
Trump has frequently criticized Zelenskiy on the campaign trail while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine. The two candidates are in a tightly contested race for Tuesday’s election.
Congress has approved nearly $175 billion of aid and military assistance for Ukraine and allied nations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Sybiha said the U.S. aid had been unprecedented.
“We are confident in the U.S. support, because also we are protecting our common values – we are protecting democracy. And this war is not the war about Ukraine, this war is about restoration of the world order,” he said.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Alistair Bell)
