Donald Trump has signaled on several occasions that he wants to reduce US aid to Ukraine. Vice presidential candidate JD Vance voted against the latest major aid package and has made it clear that he also does not want to send more money to the war in Ukraine.
But when SVT Agenda interviews Senator Jim Risch, the Republican leader in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and a close ally of Donald Trump, he promises continued support for Ukraine.
– I think the support will look more or less like today, says Jim Risch.
This week, Senator Jim Risch visited Sweden, Finland, and Estonia ahead of the presidential election. In an exclusive interview with SVT’s Agenda, he downplayed Trump’s statements about reducing aid to Ukraine and emphasized that in the US it is the Congress that makes decisions regarding economic aid packages.
Divisive question
When the latest major aid package for Ukraine of $60 billion was voted through in Congress, the issue divided Republicans. In the House of Representatives, a narrow majority of Republicans voted no to support. In the Senate, a third voted no.
Despite that, Senator Jim Risch believes that the aid to Ukraine has broad support within the Republicans.
– There is a large majority who support Ukraine, the people who have a different view on the issue are very few, according to Jim Risch.
See the interview with Senator Jim Risch in Agenda 21.15 in SVT2 and SVT Play.