Ukraine's US Ambassador Calls Tim Walz 'A Reliable Friend of Our Country'

Ukraine has hailed Tim Walz as steadfast supporter of the country's resistance, drawing a sharp contrast with the Trump campaign's position on the conflict.

As governor of Minnesota, Kamala Harris's newly announced running mate has consistently demonstrated his support for Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. This could spell good news for Ukraine in the event of a Democratic victory, but may also increase their electoral chances given America's again-increasing support for the country.

In comments given to European Pravda, a Ukrainian online newspaper, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova praised Walz's record on Ukraine.

"Governor Walz is definitely one of the leaders of such support and a reliable friend of our country," Markarova said.

She added that Walz had helped drum up support for Ukraine within his own state.

"When I visited Minnesota in December as part of our Whistlestop Tour for Ukraine with the German Marshall Fund and Howard Buffett, the governor and I met with the Farm Bureau and actually joined him in convincing them of how important Ukraine's victory is to the US national interest."

The Minnesota governor has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

On the day of the invasion, Walz took to X, then Twitter, to write: "Minnesota stands with the people of Ukraine and condemns Russia for this illegal aggression. Leaders across the world must unite and respond to this attack on democracy."

Two weeks later, Walz signed an executive order "requiring that state agencies terminate existing contracts with Russian entities and refrain from entering into future contracts with Russian entities."

These directives were codified into a bill, signed by Walz on April 1, which withdrew Minnesotan state investments from both Russian and Belarusian entities.

In February 2024, Walz met with Markarova and the pair signed a memorandum of understanding establishing an agricultural partnership between Minnesota and the Chernihiv oblast in northern Ukraine.

Walz's actions put his counterpart's stance on Ukraine into sharp relief.

During an episode of Steve Bannon's War Room in February 2022, a few days prior to the invasion, JD Vance said: "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another."

Since that time, Donald Trump's running mate has maintained an isolationist position on foreign conflicts, characteristic of his ticket's "America First" position.

In December 2023, Vance told CNN's State of the Union that Ukraine would have to "cede some territory to the Russians" in order to bring the conflict to an end.

Newsweek has contacted the Trump-Vance campaign for further comment on Vance's stance on Ukraine.

As one of two major foreign policy crises facing the next U.S. president, the candidates' positions on support for Ukraine could play a pivotal role in the upcoming election.

While there is an equal split between those who think the U.S. is doing too much to help Ukraine and those who think support should increase (36 percent each), according to a March poll by Gallup, the latter figure has increased from 25 percent in October.

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