Grant Shapps, the defense minister of British, said he believed that Poland and the United States would maintain their strong support for Ukraine despite domestic pressures linked to their approaching elections.
He said Britain would continue to support Ukraine regardless of what happened elsewhere as it had since Russia attacked Ukraine in February last year.
A weekend US budget agreement to deter imminent government shutdown did not include aid for Kyiv, while Poland, which elects a new parliament on October 15, has said it would no longer approve new weapons deliveries to Ukraine but rebuild its stocks.
Shapps, who on Sunday reported Britain was delivering 4 Typhoon jets to Poland, said it was comprehensible that any tensions over support for Ukraine would occur during an election but Poland’s support had been “magnificent” so far.
At an event at the Conservative party conference, he said, “I very much hope and believe that when the elections happen there and things are more settled, a sensible, common sense approach will be taken.”
His statements echoed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said last week he was assured that Poland would continue to back Kyiv after its elections despite the current severe rhetoric towards Ukraine.
There is also tension over Washington’s backing for Kyiv, given budget wrangling and a presidential election in November following year. President Joe Biden has urged Republican lawmakers to support a bill to provide Ukraine with more assistance.
“I think we’re a long way from the US withdrawing its support,” Shapps said, quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments that he expects US aid to continue regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.
People shouldn’t “over-read” into the machinations of the US budget process and that people were supposing a “worst case scenario” from the election that might not happen, Shapps added.
When Shapps was asked if the worst case scenario was the election of former President Donald Trump, seen as a possible Republican presidential candidate, Shapps said: “No, I don’t think the worst case scenario is Trump because what then happens will be the real question.”
“Britain will, regardless of what happens elsewhere, take a leadership role,” Shapps said.
