Don't let Russia win, NATO chief warns US

With Ukraine-skeptical Republicans poised for election gains, Jens Stoltenberg tells POLITICO a Russian victory would "send a message to authoritarian leaders - not only Putin but also China".

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has a message for US Republicans making election promises to slash Ukraine's support: That will only empower China, according to Politico.

Stoltenberg pushed his point in an expansive interview with POLITICO this week, in which the military alliance's chief made the case for a long-term American presence in Europe and a widespread boost in defence spending.

"The presence of the United States - but also Canada - in Europe, is essential for the strength and the credibility of that transatlantic bond," Stoltenberg said.

Yet anxiety is coursing through policy circles that a more reticent US may be on the horizon. The upcoming US midterm elections could tip control of Congress toward the Republicans, empowering an ascendant, MAGA-friendly Republican cohort that has been pressing to cut back US President Joe Biden's world-leading military aid to Ukraine.

Stoltenberg warned that Kyiv's recent battlefield gains would not have been possible without NATO allies' support. And he appealed to the more strident anti-China sentiment that runs through both major US political parties.

A victorious Russia, he said, would "be bad for all of us in Europe and North America, in the whole of NATO, because that will send a message to authoritarian leaders - not only Putin but also China - that by the use of brutal military force they can achieve their goals".

Stoltenberg, however, expressed optimism that the US would not soon vanish from Europe - or from Ukraine. Indeed, a contingent of more establishment Republicans has supported Biden's repeated requests to send money and arms to Ukraine.

"I'm confident," the NATO chief said, "that also after midterms, there will still be a clear majority in the Congress - in the House and in the Senate - for continued significant support to Ukraine".

The charged debate is the product of a troubling reality: Russia's war in Ukraine appears likely to drag on for months as budgets tighten and economies wane. 

In Washington, that discussion is intensifying ahead of elections slated for November 8. And a chorus of conservatives is increasingly reluctant to spend vast sums on aid to Ukraine. Since the war began, the US has pledged to give Ukraine more than $17 billion in security assistance, well above what Europe has collectively committed.

Stoltenberg said that he is confident Washington will continue aiding Ukraine "partly because if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wins in Ukraine, that will be a catastrophe for the Ukrainians".