What did US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump say about Ukraine in the first debate?

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris held their first, and probably last, debate in the 2024 presidential race on September 10. Harris accused Trump of being willing to abandon US support for Ukraine in order to curry favor with Russian President Putin, calling Trump’s position shameful.

“If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now, looking at the rest of Europe, starting with Poland,” Harris said.

However, Trump once again emphasized that the wars in Ukraine and Israel would not have started had he been president. Moreover, he promised to stop the war in Ukraine even before his inauguration, that is, before January 20, 2025.

Kamala Harris emphasized the importance of observing international law and Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty. Still, she did not identify the specific steps she would take to help Ukraine if she becomes the US president.

Most American voters who watched the debate believe Harris outperformed her opponent.