Polish foreign minister seeks 'braver' US approach to Ukraine

Ukraine’s prospects for success in its defense against Russia might depend on “whether the Biden administration will be braver” and provide decisive support between the election and inauguration of the next U.S. president, Poland’s top diplomat told Bloomberg News on Friday.

The transition period offers “a window of opportunity to do something that materially helps,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in Washington, without speculating about the outcome of the U.S. vote.

“We would like to have a strategy for winning this war rather than just for Ukraine to endure,” Sikorski said, echoing criticism that the West provides only enough support to prevent defeat.

Asked to define the contours of such a strategy, Sikorski pointed to the so-called victory plan that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to present to President Joe Biden during their planned meeting next week: “More arms, more money to build arms.”

Of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said: “that’s the only language he understands.”

An electoral victory by Vice President Kamala Harris would yield a “continuation of current policy” on Ukraine, Sikorski said, citing statements from the Democratic nominee. “And if the alternative happens, who knows?” he said, referring to former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.

The foreign minister took issue with the continued U.S. policy of restricting Kyiv’s ability to use American weapons to launch deep strikes into Russia. Ukraine has the right to strike against legitimate Russian military targets — including airfields used to carry out devastating attacks, Sikorski said, adding that Western fears regarding escalation of the conflict are overblown.

“Every time we discussed delivering something to Ukraine, Putin has threatened escalation,” he said.

In a Friday appearance on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power,” Sikorski told host Kailey Leinz that a decision by the U.S. government to allow Ukraine to use American weapons for long-range strikes “would certainly help.”

Sikorski said he hopes countries will reiterate United Nations support for Kyiv at next week’s high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, calling on them to “stay the course.”

(Kailey Leinz and Kasia Klimasinska contributed to this report.)