“Their fight is our fight. And, they will lose if we fail to support them. They can win if we do.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) paints a dire picture of Ukraine’s desperate fight to fend off the unprovoked Russian invasion. He says Ukraine needs artillery now, a need that can be fulfilled to a large degree if Congress approves $60 billion in aid.
Blumenthal met with reporters Monday at the Ukrainian National Home in Hartford, home base for local Ukrainian Americans and their efforts to supply aid to the Eastern European nation in its darkest days.
He returned this weekend from a nine-day tour of Europe and the Middle East, including a visit to Ukraine for his fifth visit with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“As I sat across from President Zelenskyy, what I saw was a leader whose troops are literally bleeding and dying,” says Blumenthal, “losing ground because they don’t have enough ammunition, they don’t have enough shells to fend off the Russian onslaught.”
He says the billions in American aid, part of larger package which includes funds for Israel and Taiwan, will make a difference. The entire package, however, is being blocked by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has refused to bring it to the House floor for a vote.
Some Republicans, including presidential candidate Donald Trump, oppose the plan, questioning whether the aid package is in the U.S.
interest.
Blumenthal explains that in backing Ukraine, the U.S. is helping a democratic ally defend itself, while trying to prevent American troops from ultimately engaging in direct conflict with Russia: If Vladimir Putin were to win in Ukraine, he could then attempt to invade Poland or other NATO countries, forcing the U.S. into battle.
“We’re obligated to come to the aid of NATO allies,” the senator says. “If Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, he will move to his next prey, and our troops will be doing the fighting as Ukraine is doing now.”
Citing recent bipartisan passage for the aid package in the Senate, Blumenthal says he expects it would pass with similar bipartisan support in the House— where it is blocked by Johnson’s opposition.
To Johnson, he says, “Do your job. Give it a vote. Pay now or pay a lot more later. And, if you can’t lead, get out of the way.”
WTIC has issued a request for comment to Speaker Johnson’s office.
Johnson said recently, “As Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States, and our partners, must be using every means available to cut off Putin’s ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states.”
To this point, Johnson’s stated support for Ukraine does not include backing the $60 billion in aid.
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Blumenthal blasts Trump’s apparent influence over Johnson and other congressional Republicans on the Ukraine issue: “Republican colleagues in the House need to reject Donald Trump’s interference. He is a toxic element in this battle. He is exerting influence, harmfully, on Republican House members, just as he tried to do in the Senate. The national security of this country is at stake. It has to be above politics.”
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Sen. Blumenthal also says U.S. sanctions against Russia need to be enforced more vigorously. Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol, Blumenthal will chair a session of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The topic: how parts and components from American companies are still reaching Russian weapons manufacturers.