“Donald Trump and his supporters are already in fact helping Russia” – Kommersant FM

The White House announced a new call for Congress to approve aid to Ukraine. Earlier, US President Joe Biden held telephone talks with G7 allies. We agreed to continue to support Kyiv. Nevertheless, today a separate group of Republican supporters of Donald Trump takes an irreconcilable position on this issue. As a result, Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy lost his post. Kommersant FM political commentator Dmitry Drize does not rule out that the situation around the Ukrainian package risks escalating even further.

Joe Biden convened a telephone meeting with America’s allies, where he promised not to leave Ukraine without support. And in addition to this, specific issues were discussed, namely the supply of ammunition and weapons, as well as support for energy infrastructure in the winter. Earlier, the President of the United States appealed to Congress, including the Republicans, with a call to adopt a separate document on assistance to Kyiv.

Before this, we agreed to extend government funding, but without Ukraine. Now the White House is insisting on a new discussion and a new bill. In Europe, too, not everything is going smoothly with this issue. Earlier, EU foreign ministers gathered in the Ukrainian capital for the first ever summit, but were unable to agree on €5 billion in military aid for 2024, despite the situation around them.

Of course, the EU leadership hopes to do this later. The general meaning is this: it has always been possible to reach an agreement and now it will be possible, they say, we have the appropriate levers. As you know, the Western allies have set an ambitious goal – to defeat corruption in a single country, and in the shortest possible time.

One thing is related to the other: it is believed that if progress is made in this area, taxpayers in the Western world will not object to assistance to Ukraine. At least the critics will be deprived of the argument that the money will be stolen. Zelensky’s office is under pressure, and various semi-secret documents are leaked to the media. Their meaning is that we work, we demand, we send angry letters, we show toughness towards our Ukrainian partners, despite promises and assurances of endless support.

Everyone understands perfectly well that it is impossible to defeat corruption in such a short time. Moreover, the West has been trying to do this for at least the last five years. But laws can be passed, an appropriate mechanism can be created, inspectors have already been sent to the country to figure out on the spot where the money is going.

And measures are being taken – they have begun to grab the hands of various officials and even high-ranking people more often. The Minister of Defense has been replaced. Igor Kolomoisky, almost the main oligarch of Ukraine, is on trial. By the way, America has been sharpening its grudge against him for a long time. But, apparently, this is not enough; a breakthrough is needed in this direction. Probably something like this will happen in the near future. Or maybe not.

Be that as it may, summing up the interim results, it turns out that Trump and his supporters, wittingly or unwittingly, are helping the Russian Federation. It’s difficult to say what will happen next. And should this be considered a big victory? But today a fact is a fact. The political struggle in America is intensifying. And in Europe, in fact, too.

There are, of course, reasons to believe that these difficulties will also be overcome. Because there is no problem that cannot be solved. But the deep people in Western countries, those who first of all think about themselves, about their pockets, demand that they be taken into account. And there are those who are ready to lead this process.

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