By Tim Reid
(Reuters) -&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;presidential&nbsp;hopeful&nbsp;Nikki&nbsp;Haley, U.N. ambassador under former President Donald&nbsp;Trump, went after her ex-boss and 2024 rival Ron&nbsp;DeSantis&nbsp;on Sunday&nbsp;over&nbsp;their refusal to say whether they want&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;to win its war against Russia.
In recent town hall events,&nbsp;Trump, the favorite for the&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;presidential nomination, said that he wanted the war to end, but that he would help&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;and Russia negotiate a settlement.
Florida Governor&nbsp;DeSantis,&nbsp;Trump's nearest rival for the&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;nomination, said recently that he supports a settlement to the war, and that he hopes fighting will end by the time the next president takes the oath of office in January 2025.
Haley, the only woman in the race for the&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;nomination, lambasted&nbsp;DeSantis&nbsp;for saying this year that&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;was a "territorial dispute", a comment that drew widespread criticism and that he has since walked back.
"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,"&nbsp;Haley&nbsp;told voters in the early nominating state of Iowa during a televised CNN town hall event.
"It's in the best interest of our national security for&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;to win," she added.
Ukraine&nbsp;is an issue that divides&nbsp;Republicans, because of an isolationist streak among many of the party's primary voters.
Haley, 51, a former South Carolina governor, declared her&nbsp;White&nbsp;House&nbsp;bid in February but finds herself in a crowded&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;field that will reach double digits this week with the entrance of more contenders, including former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump&nbsp;dominates the field among potential&nbsp;Republican&nbsp;primary voters with 49% support.&nbsp;DeSantis&nbsp;is next with 19%. There is a yawning chasm between them and the rest of the field, including&nbsp;Haley; she has just 4% support, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll conducted in May.
Haley&nbsp;and many of her rivals polling in single digits are trying to differentiate themselves from&nbsp;DeSantis, in the hope that he stumbles and they can become the main alternative to&nbsp;Trump.
But some have also begun to criticize&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;himself, after months of shrinking away from attacking the former president out of a fear of alienating his hardcore supporters.
On Sunday she also criticized&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;for congratulating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week after the country was elected to the executive board of the World Health Organization.&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;has also praised the North Korean leader in the past.
"Kim Jong Un is a thug,"&nbsp;Haley&nbsp;said. "I don't think we should congratulate dictators."
Trump&nbsp;also took fire from&nbsp;DeSantis&nbsp;and Pence&nbsp;over&nbsp;congratulating Kim, in separate weekend events in Iowa, the state that kicks of the nominating battle next year.
&nbsp;
(Reporting by Tim Reid in Los Angeles. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

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Republican White House hopeful Nikki Haley attacks Trump, DeSantis over Ukraine