Biden’s two-pronged plan to protect Ukraine when he’s gone

The US president, Joe Biden, is pursuing a last-minute attempt to shore up American support for Ukraine – ahead of a possible victory for Donald Trump in the US election on November 5.

Biden feels that US foreign policy on Ukraine is under threat if Trump wins. The US president has been a longstanding advocate of Ukrainian sovereignty, signing a ten-year security commitment to provide military support to Kiev back in June.

But, with only weeks left in office and facing the possibility of Trump winning the 2024 election, this raises a big question about who will – or won’t – be on Ukraine’s side from January 20 next year. Biden is now trying to stack the political deck in Ukraine’s favor before he goes.

Trump is an unpredictable foreign policy leader – and it is difficult to say exactly what he would do on Ukraine if elected next month.

But the signs are not good for Ukraine. Trump is seen as wanting to appease Putin. He has also publicly attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Doubts were raised about whether Trump would meet Zelensky during the latter’s recent visit to the US. In the end, Trump did meet the Ukrainian leader, and apparently it didn’t go too badly.

US and EU officials have expressed concern that Trump would halt funding to Ukraine and even force Zelensky into accepting a ceasefire and possibly giving up territory to Putin. As a result, Biden sees a need to Trump-proof US policy on the conflict.

Backing up US support for Ukraine also furthers Biden’s aims even if his vice-president, Kamala Harris, wins the election. Committed to ending the war, Biden wants to leave Harris with a solid policy footing on which to build a resolution.

After such a polarized election campaign, Harris will be a