Russia won't stop with Ukraine if Putin wins, US ambassador to Britain Jane Hartley warns

The US ambassador to the United Kingdom issued a stark warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue to war monger in Europe if his forces are successful in Ukraine. 

'Anybody who thinks that Russia may stop after this, I think is wrong,' Ambassador Jane Hartley told Sky News' Kay Burley in a new interview.

Hartley, 73, went on to say that she is 'optimistic' that President Joe Biden will secure much needed funding for the Ukrainian war effort despite stern opposition from the Donald Trump supporting wing of the Republican Party. 

'I was ambassador (to France and Monaco) in 2014, and I saw what happened in Crimea. I don't know why anybody would say, 'Oh this is it for Russia.' Democracy, I think, is at stake. So we need to support Ukraine,' Hartley added. 

Hartley compared the current geopolitical climate to that of build-up to World War II. 'We want to do everything we can to make sure Ukraine is still a strong democracy and that Russia loses the war.'

Jane Hartley sat for an interview with Sky News' Kay Burley at her residence in London

Hartley warned that Putin will not stop if his forces are successful in Ukraine

orensic experts collect remains of Russian missile after attack on March 25, 2024 in Kyiv

Just last week, Putin won a landslide victory in his country's presidential election. 

Telling his people afterwards that Moscow will not relent in its invasion of Ukraine and plans to create a buffer zone to help protect against long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids. 

The Kremlin's forces have made battlefield progress as Kyiv's troops struggle with a severe shortage of artillery shells and exhausted front-line units after more than two years of war. 

The front line stretches over 620 miles across eastern and southern Ukraine.

Since his victory, Russia was rocked by a brutal terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalists that killed 137 people and wounded over 100 inside of a concert hall on the outskirts of Moscow. 

Speaking about other issues, Hartley defended Israel's right to defend itself but called the humanitarian situation in Gaza 'terrifying.' 

Hartley said 'no children should ever have to go through' starvation and also said that humanitarian aid should get through to the area. 

Hartley also called President Joe Biden 'the best candidate' in the 2024 election. 

'I'm a friend. I'm a fan. I've known the president for many, many, many years. But all you have to do is look at his record and see where he has brought our country,' she said. 

 'He has not only ability, but he has a sense of history,' Hartley added. 

Hartley also pushed back on Donald Trump's claims that Prince Harry may be subject to deportation from the US if he is found to have lied on a visa application about his past drug use.

'It's not going to happen in the Biden administration.'

Biden  settled on Hartley for the high-profile U.K. ambassadorship in July 2021, just six months into his presidency. 

She served as ambassador to France and Monaco during the Obama administration. She was a significant fundraiser for Biden's 2020 presidential race and has been a big supporter of Democratic candidates over the years.

Hartley serves on the board of trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and is a member of the board of overseers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 

She is also chairman of the board of trustees of Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street.

'Given the critical challenges we are facing at this time, the relationship with our allies is crucially important,' Hartley said in a statement at the time of her appointment. 

'I look forward to strengthening our special relationship with the UK and deepening the partnership with one of our most important allies.' 

Presidents have typically rewarded donors and key supporters with sought-after ambassadorships. 

About 44 percent  of Donald Trump’s ambassadorial appointments were political appointees, compared with 31 percent for Barack Obama and 32 percent for George W. Bush, according to the American Foreign Service Association. 

Biden hopes to keep political appointments to about 30 percent of ambassador picks, according to an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about internal discussions.