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Voters appear to be split over giving more support to Ukraine should Donald Trump withdraw US backing
Voters appear to be split over giving more support to Ukraine should Donald Trump withdraw US backing
A serviceman of 24th mechanised brigade named after King Danylo rests as he attends an exercise, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk (Photo: Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters)
By Richard Vaughan
December 2, 2024
Support for the Ukraine war effort among Britons appears to be waning, polling shows, as President Volodymyr Zeleksny has signalled he is willing to broker a peace deal with Russia.
A survey by BMG Research conducted for The i Paper suggests that voters are increasingly likely to state that the UK is giving “too much” support to Ukraine, nearly three years after Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
According to the figures, more than a quarter – 26 per cent – of respondents said they felt the UK was doing too much to back Kyiv, a rise of 11 percentage points since August 2022 and an eight point rise since the question was most recently asked in February 2023.
As such, the country is split on whether the UK should step up support for Ukraine if the US decides to pull its military and aid funding after Donald Trump takes office.
The research shows that just under a quarter – 23 per cent – believe the Government should increase support if the Trump administration withdraws support, while the same number think the UK should follow suit and pull its own backing for Ukraine.
Just over four in 10 voters – 41 per cent – said the support the UK was currently given was the right amount, while 19 per cent said it was too little, down from 25 per cent in 2023.
The figures come as Zelensky has said he would be willing to cede territory lost to Russia in order to end the “hot war” if it meant the remainder of Ukraine is taken under the “Nato umbrella”.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said he “can’t predict” if Ukraine would be part of the Nato alliance in the future, but added the country must be “free to make decisions about its own future”.
He added that any application would “have to be considered properly by Nato in the future”.
Asked if the UK would back a deal that would see Russia keeping control of areas such as Crimea if the Ukrainians agreed, Mr McFadden said: “The principle that we would approach anything around that would be that Ukraine’s got to be free to make its choices.
“We don’t want to see Ukraine coerced into accepting a deal that it doesn’t want, and we want them to be free to make their own choices.”
It comes as the Government has launched a new Defence Industrial Strategy, which ministers hope will help boost UK growth and help to meet the Ministry of Defence’s target of spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.
Under the proposals set out by Defence Secretary John Healy, the new strategy will place deterrence at the heart of the Government’s approach, “to ensure adversaries know the UK has an industrial base that can innovate at a wartime pace”.
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It follows comments from Healy in which he said the UK’s armed forces are “not ready to fight” in a war.
Speaking ahead of an investment summit on Monday, the Defence Secretary will say: “Our defence sector should be an engine for jobs and growth, strengthening our security and economy.
“That requires a defence industry that is better and more integrated – one that can keep our Armed Forces equipped, innovating at a wartime pace, and ahead of our adversaries.
“National security is the foundation for national stability and growth.
“We are sending a signal to the market and to our adversaries: with a strong UK defence sector we will make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.”
By Richard Vaughan
December 2, 2024
iNEWS
Support for the Ukraine war effort among Britons appears to be waning, polling shows, as President Volodymyr Zeleksny has signalled he is willing to broker a peace deal with Russia.
A survey by BMG Research conducted for The i Paper suggests that voters are increasingly likely to state that the UK is giving “too much” support to Ukraine, nearly three years after Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
According to the figures, more than a quarter – 26 per cent – of respondents said they felt the UK was doing too much to back Kyiv, a rise of 11 percentage points since August 2022 and an eight point rise since the question was most recently asked in February 2023.
As such, the country is split on whether the UK should step up support for Ukraine if the US decides to pull its military and aid funding after Donald Trump takes office.
The research shows that just under a quarter – 23 per cent – believe the Government should increase support if the Trump administration withdraws support, while the same number think the UK should follow suit and pull its own backing for Ukraine.
Just over four in 10 voters – 41 per cent – said the support the UK was currently given was the right amount, while 19 per cent said it was too little, down from 25 per cent in 2023.
The figures come as Zelensky has said he would be willing to cede territory lost to Russia in order to end the “hot war” if it meant the remainder of Ukraine is taken under the “Nato umbrella”.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said he “can’t predict” if Ukraine would be part of the Nato alliance in the future, but added the country must be “free to make decisions about its own future”.
He added that any application would “have to be considered properly by Nato in the future”.
Asked if the UK would back a deal that would see Russia keeping control of areas such as Crimea if the Ukrainians agreed, Mr McFadden said: “The principle that we would approach anything around that would be that Ukraine’s got to be free to make its choices.
“We don’t want to see Ukraine coerced into accepting a deal that it doesn’t want, and we want them to be free to make their own choices.”
It comes as the Government has launched a new Defence Industrial Strategy, which ministers hope will help boost UK growth and help to meet the Ministry of Defence’s target of spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.
Under the proposals set out by Defence Secretary John Healy, the new strategy will place deterrence at the heart of the Government’s approach, “to ensure adversaries know the UK has an industrial base that can innovate at a wartime pace”.
Read Next
Britons want closer ties with EU over Trump trade deal, poll shows
It follows comments from Healy in which he said the UK’s armed forces are “not ready to fight” in a war.
Speaking ahead of an investment summit on Monday, the Defence Secretary will say: “Our defence sector should be an engine for jobs and growth, strengthening our security and economy.
“That requires a defence industry that is better and more integrated – one that can keep our Armed Forces equipped, innovating at a wartime pace, and ahead of our adversaries.
“National security is the foundation for national stability and growth.
“We are sending a signal to the market and to our adversaries: with a strong UK defence sector we will make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.”
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