Chris Christie compares Ron DeSantis' stance on Ukraine to appeasing Hitler before WWII

• Chris Christie compared Ron DeSantis to British PM Neville Chamberlain over his Ukraine stance.
• Chamberlain is accused of appeasing Adolf Hitler before World War II.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has compared Ron DeSantis to the British Prime Minister accused of appeasing Adolf Hitler before World War II.

In a Fox News interview Sunday, DeSantis provoked a backlash from establishment Republicans when he claimed that defending Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion was not a "vital" US interest.

Chris Christie, a former aide to Donald Trump, compared DeSantis to Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister who in the 1930s allowed Hitler's Nazi Germany to expand its territory unchecked, emboldening the dictator's aggression.

"[DeSantis] sounds like Neville Chamberlain talking about when Germany had designs on Czechoslovakia," Christie told Axios Tuesday.

"I don't think that's what America stands for...For anyone who's considering running for president to fundamentally misunderstand that or to be cynical enough to change their views in order to please any particular constituency is very concerning."

DeSantis, who's rumored to be preparing a 2024 bid, echoed former President Donald Trump in questioning US support for Ukraine.

President Joe Biden has characterised the war as a battle for democracy, and has pledged open-ended US support for Ukraine. The US is Ukraine's key international backer, having provided $31 billion in security assistance.

Republicans who've backed US support for Ukraine say that if the US doesn't stand up to Russian aggression, it would embolden Russia and lead to more conflict, comparing it to the chain of events that led to World War II.

"If Putin loses in Ukraine, then the world resets in all the right ways. If he wins in Ukraine and the west capitulates just like in the past, more conflict is coming," tweeted South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham Tuesday.