For many months, the consistent response has been a shrug or a sneer.. If you were to ask U.S. politicians about some of their right-wing colleagues who openly called for a halt to the flow of U.S. aid to Ukraine and noted that it was not in America’s interest to support Kiev, they would say that only a small and vocal minority thought so..

Better to ignore nationalist populists like Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Green and Ohio's James Vance. Instead, the focus should be on the majority of elected congressmen in both houses of the US Parliament who support Ukraine's efforts to defeat the Russian invaders..

“My party leaders support a strong America and the transatlantic alliance. Don't look on Twitter. Look at the people in power,” the Washington Post quoted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as saying during the Munich Security Conference a month ago..

But outside the halls of government, a different picture loomed.. Perhaps an agreement between congressmen Republicans and Democrats on bipartisan support for Ukraine really exists. But polls show a growing number of Americans loyal to the Republican Party who do not consider Ukraine important to the United States.. They are confident that America has done enough and should support Kyiv less. In addition, they are open to the scenario in which Ukraine will cede part of its territory in favor of Russia if this brings peace faster..

And what about people whose power in the future can grow? On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican) called the Russian invasion of Ukraine a "

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DeSantis has yet to formally announce his intention to run for President of the United States in 2024. But his statement was another sign that he had such ambitions.. The Florida Governor recently visited several states that will play a key role in his nomination process.. DeSantis is seen as the archrival of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long been a sympathizer with Vladimir Putin and opposes the Biden administration's approach to supporting Ukraine.. In response to Carlson's question, Trump said it was time for ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia.. At the same time, he added that he was ready to allow Moscow to occupy part of Ukraine in exchange for a settlement.

This is contrary to the standard line of President Biden and Europe, which promised to provide Ukraine with military assistance and insisted that they did not intend to impose peace terms on Kyiv.. Moreover, Biden linked Ukraine's desire to expel the Russian army from its territory with the global confrontation between democracy and authoritarianism.. Last month, during speeches in Kyiv and Warsaw, the American president rhapsodically spoke of supporting Ukraine at the forefront of the battle for the freedom and integrity of the international order..

Other Republicans share similar sentiments.. On Tuesday, Senator Marco Rubio criticized the way DeSantis describes the events..

“This is the same territorial dispute as if the US decided they wanted to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas,” the Republican said, stressing that the US has “interests” in the conflict in Ukraine, although “not limitless.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has also taken a stance opposite to that of his " He described the Ukrainian struggle in almost missionary terms..

" And I am convinced that the American people will stand with you until the dawn of the victory of freedom in Ukraine, in Europe and for the whole world,” Pence said during a speech in Texas last month..

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Such rhetoric appeals to Ukrainians, their friends in Europe, and the vast majority of the foreign policy establishment in Washington.. But it obscures more complex and pragmatic discussions about the length of the war, the ability of Ukraine's depleted military to achieve maximum victory, and the risk of a wider escalation with a nuclear Russia.. These conversations need to be heard. In his statement, DeSantis warned that no steps should be taken that would further drag the United States into the conflict and provoke a conflict with the Kremlin.. In particular, he is against the supply of fighter jets and long-range missiles to Ukraine.. He also dismissed the prospect of "

DeSantis' general skepticism about a Western trajectory on the war puts him on par with a group of right-wing politicians in Europe.. Some, such as former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accuse Kyiv and President Volodymyr Zelensky of provoking Russia to invade.. Other right-wing leaders, such as Marine Le Pen in France and Viktor Orban in Hungary, want to stop arms supplies to Ukraine and negotiate an immediate ceasefire.. Critics say their calls for peace are fully in Russia's interests.

Until recently, DeSantis' rhetoric was the complete opposite.. In 2016, during an interview he gave following the Russian annexation of Crimea, Congressman DeSantis said that Putin's calculations would have been different if the Obama administration had given Kiev more defensive and offensive weapons.. However, Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, believes that the difference in the positions of Biden and DeSantis is not so great.. The incumbent US president said last year that Putin "

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However, the White House then “gave back” and explained that the United States was not promoting regime change in Russia and was not going to use American forces in the conflict..

The Biden administration has also avoided transferring long-range weapons to Ukraine for fear of a deeper confrontation with Russia, and signaled to Kyiv that U.S. aid cannot keep the Ukrainian military alive forever..

“There is a real difference between DeSantis and Biden. DeSantis says rates in Ukraine are much less than Biden claims. He is more open to cuts in military aid and supports a truce that could theoretically be forced on Ukraine.. However, it is worth remembering the limits of Biden's war commitments, which his maximalist rhetoric sometimes obscures,” Wertheim said..