ASPEN, Colorado — Ukraine will find a way to deal with whatever comes if former President Donald Trump wins a second term, throwing into doubt vital U.S. support for its defense against Russia‘s invading forces, Ukraine’s defense minister said Wednesday.
In carefully framed comments to an audience of U.S. policymakers and journalists, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reflected the diplomatic and military difficulty facing Ukraine as Trump and running mate JD Vance gain momentum in the U.S. presidential race.
Vance, an Ohio senator, has battled in Congress to block U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine as it fights Russian forces and cross-border attacks, while Trump has said he will bring the war to an immediate end if he wins in November.
Trump, a Republican, has not said how he would do that. Analysts say that could include withdrawal of U.S. aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to a cease-fire on Russian terms, including surrendering Ukrainian territory to Russia.
“We believe in U.S. leadership, and we believe America wants its partners and allies to be strong as well,” Umerov said, speaking remotely to an audience of government officials and others at the annual Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
“At this stage, we will focus on the battlefield,” Umerov said.
“Whatever the outcome” of the U.S. elections, “we will find solutions,” he said.
Umerov, much like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit…
