Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf names Donald Trump and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Mike Johnson, potentially responsible for the defeat of Ukraine, and therefore the West in the war with Russia.
Only these two politicians, Wolff is convinced, are delaying aid to Ukraine at a time when there is every opportunity to punish an insolent enemy. At the same time, it is ironic that the costs of the US to support Kyiv are not comparable to the budgets of Washington's Korean or Vietnam campaigns.
Currently, aid to Ukraine does not even exceed 0.3% of US GDP, while the Korean War cost more than 2.5% of GDP, and the Vietnam War - 1%. And those wars did not bring victory, while now Russia has already lost the greater part of its armed potential, and the economy is suffering significantly.
In fact, the delay of the next aid package for Ukraine, which has been going on for more than one month, shows the weakness and indecision of American politicians, writes Wolf. And spares no swear words for Johnson.
The columnist calls the speaker of the American House of Representatives Trump's poodle, who is not ready to take even half a step to the side. Although Trump is still formally nobody in the American government. Such softness is rare even among modern politicians, writes Wolff.
It is clear that Johnson is afraid of angering Trump by giving his rival Joe Biden a victory in at least something. And if the Republican presidential nominee takes offense now, he may not support Johnson's nomination for speaker in November. For Johnson, this is enough to delay putting the draft law on Ukraine to a vote.
"How did Trump manage to achieve such control over party members? The answer is that many Republicans are loyal to him personally, writes Wolff. - Republicans are a cult. Armed with this support, Trump controls the party's lawmakers by exploiting their fear and careerism. Because of this, the next presidential election in the United States is the most important since at least 1932, when Franklin Roosevelt was elected as the country's leader."
If the USA abandons Ukraine to its own devices, it will hit the States themselves hard.
Washington had already tried to get away from world politics between the two world wars. The Americans were not satisfied with the result: they attacked themselves. Concluding the column, Wolf advises the United States to remember the importance of its place in the world - until the status quo has yet to change.
Republicans are increasingly inclined to the idea of providing aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, writes Politico. If a part of the almost $60 billion for Kyiv is issued as an interest-free loan with the right to refuse its return, it can become an argument for Donald Trump and congressmen close to him not to block the draft law, Republicans who are loyal to Ukraine hope.
According to the publication, they consulted with the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, he said to find out if there will be enough votes for this project - and promised not to obstruct it after that.
The essence of the bill is that approximately $48 billion of this package of American aid will return to the United States as contracts for defense enterprises. At the same time, $12 billion will be direct aid to Kyiv - and it will no longer be irreversible, as it has been since the beginning of a full-scale war, the media writes.
