In the race for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, former UN ambassador under Donald Trump, took aim at her ex-boss and fellow 2024 contender Ron DeSantis on Sunday

regarding their stance on Ukraine's conflict with Russia.

During recent town hall events, front-runner Trump expressed his desire for the war to end while indicating his willingness to facilitate negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. DeSantis, the Florida governor and Trump's closest rival for the nomination, stated his support for a settlement and expressed hope for an end to the fighting by the time the next president assumes office in January 2025.

Haley, the only woman in the Republican race, strongly criticized DeSantis for his earlier characterization of Ukraine as a "territorial dispute," a statement that garnered widespread criticism and has since been retracted.

Speaking to voters in Iowa during a televised CNN town hall, Haley rebuked DeSantis and Trump, stating, "For them to sit there and say that this is a territorial dispute - that's just not the case, or to say that we should stay neutral. It's in the best interest of our national security for Ukraine to win."

The question of Ukraine has become divisive among Republicans due to the presence of isolationist sentiments among many primary voters in the party.

Haley, 51, who served as the governor of South Carolina, announced her bid for the White House in February. However, she faces stiff competition within a crowded field of Republican contenders that is expected to grow as more candidates, including former vice president Mike Pence, join the race.

According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in May, Trump leads the potential Republican primary field with 49% support, followed by DeSantis at 19%. The gap between them and the rest of the field, including Haley, is significant, as she currently holds only 4% support.

Haley, along with other candidates polling in the single digits, is striving to distinguish herself from DeSantis in the hopes that he stumbles, allowing them to emerge as the primary alternative to Trump.

Interestingly, some candidates have started to criticize Trump himself, signaling a departure from their previous reluctance to challenge the former president for fear of alienating his loyal supporters.

In addition to her remarks on Ukraine, Haley also criticized Trump for congratulating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the country's election to the executive board of the World Health Organization. She referred to Kim Jong Un as a "thug" and stated, "I don't think we should congratulate dictators."

Both DeSantis and Pence also took aim at Trump over his congratulations to Kim during separate events in Iowa, the state that kicks off the nominating battle next year. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.