Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has made his fears of a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House in 2024 quite public.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he admitted that he was unsure how exactly the Republican leader would have reacted had Russia invaded during his presidency.
Zelensky praised the response of the Biden administration which has regularly handed over billions of dollars worth of weapons aid to Ukraine since Moscow’s invasion began last year.
Zelensky also addressed Donald Trump’s claim that he could negotiate a peace settlement to the Ukraine War within 24 hours, noting that it seemed as if Trump did not care that Ukrainian territory – namely Crimea – was being “occupied” by Russia during his presidency after being illegally annexed under President Obama in 2014.
Asked how he felt about Donald Trump, Zelensky admitted that he was more comfortable with dealing with Biden and that the return of a Republican-led government could end up being difficult for his war effort.
“President Biden is the president during a full-scale war and he has been more helpful to us than President Trump,” Zelensky told the interviewer, qualifying the statement by noting that there “was no full-scale war” going on while Trump was in office.
“In a situation like this, when there is support, you are afraid of changes,” Zelensky said. “And to be honest, when you mention a change of administration, I feel the same way as anyone… You want changes for the better, but it can also be the other way around.”
In order to protect both citizens on the front line and those living in cities from possible Russian air attacks, Zelensky begged for more Patriot missile systems from Western nations.
Currently, there are only two Patriot batteries located in Ukraine comprised of launchers, radar systems, control stations, and other equipment, however, Zelesnky is asking for at least 50 such platforms which cost around one billion dollars apiece according to Raytheon (the American manufacturer).
The purchase would ultimately dwarf what has already been committed by the United States alone and even this security assistance comes with risk as one battery had reportedly been successfully hit in a Russian strike though U.S. officials noted minimal damage done.
With each individual rocket for these protective platforms costing as much as $4 million each, it is no wonder why Western governments carefully consider their options before committing such large sums of money towards military aid.
