Republican Ron DeSantis stated that the defense of Ukraine is not the US priority. He may run for president in 2024

The governor of the state of Florida Republican Ron DeSantis stated that protecting the borders of Ukraine is not a vital interest of the United States. He believes that American politicians should focus on their own country.

The New York Times writes about it.

"While the United States has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing our military readiness crisis, achieving energy security and independence, and containing the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — the growing entanglement in the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis noted on Fox News.

However, in 2014 and 2015, when Russia launched military aggression against Ukraine, DeSantis criticized then-President Obama for not doing enough and called for arms to Ukraine. Now his views have changed.

"The Biden administrationʼs funding of this conflict with an ʼunlimited checkʼ for ʼas long as it takes,ʼ without any defined goals or accountability, distracts from our countryʼs most pressing challenges," DeSantis stated.

He is also against the supply of long-range missiles and aircraft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine due to the risks of a "hot phase of war between the two largest nuclear powers in the world."

DeSantisʼs statements regarding Ukraine coincide with the views of the former US President Donald Trump. The former US leader often repeats that "both sides are tired and ready to make a deal" and that "the death and destruction must end now". Trump has already stated that he would allow Russia to "take over" parts of Ukraine as part of the agreement.

DeSantis has not officially announced his intention to run for the Republican Party, but has said in private conversations that he plans to run for president. In the USA, he is ranked on the same level as Donald Trump.