Tankie splitter. West stated that he believed the Russian invasion of Ukraine was “a criminal invasion, provoked by the expansion of NATO, which is an instrument of U.S. global power” and described the war as a “proxy war between the American Empire and the Russian Federation”.[97][98] West’s campaign received extensive support from Republican and Trump allies to stay on the ballot in swing states in hope that he would take votes from Kamala Harris.[126][127][128] West expressed ambivalence about the support from Republicans.[126]