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Obviously, there are great concerns regarding Washington’s support for Ukraine.
For months the Foundation’s Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN) and its individual members have been criticized the embarrassingly familiar and incomplete thought - “We are with Ukraine as long as it takes”, calling on the White House to state clearly that the United States objective is to give Ukraine what it needs to defeat Russia.
Likewise, we have criticized the stubbornly ill-informed Tucker Carlson Caucus within the House Republican Conference. What a mess they have created with no benefit to the country and damage to be seen in all directions.
While many in Congress and outside Congress work trying to sort out the circular Republican firing squad, I write to share an important and timely action by two Republicans who have been steadfast in their support of Ukraine and who represent the thinking of most of their colleagues in Congress.
Hopefully, the House Republicans will get their act together in support of Ukraine and our critical American national security interests tied to Ukraine’s winning the war.
In the meantime, hopefully, the Administration will finally take to heart the message in the letter set out in the press release presented here:
McCaul, Risch on Admin Repeated Failure to Articulate Strategy for Ukraine Victory
Press Release 10.06.23
MediaContact 202-226-8467
Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID) sent a letter to President Joe Biden demanding his administration to engage transparently with Congress on its strategy for supporting a Ukrainian victory and the status of official and unofficial discussions with the Russian Federation about how to end the war.
“As strong supporters of Ukraine, we remain deeply concerned that after nearly a year and a half since Russia launched its unprovoked war of aggression, your administration has failed to articulate a strategy outlining how U.S. assistance to Ukraine will help them achieve victory over Russia, while also prioritizing and advancing American interests,” the lawmakers wrote. “A pledge to support Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’ is not a strategy.
“Our concerns about your administration’s objectives in Ukraine are heightened by recent reports of ongoing Track 1.5 and Track 2 diplomacy with Russian officials and people close to President Vladimir Putin, but which allegedly exclude Ukrainian officials. These meetings have not been briefed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That is unacceptable. We must be briefed on your administration’s strategy for bringing Russia’s war on Ukraine to a successful end and all your efforts to engage with Russia. Also, as it is Ukrainian—not American—soldiers fighting, it would be reprehensible to exclude Kyiv from discussions about its own future.”
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
Dear President Biden:
As strong supporters of Ukraine, we remain deeply concerned that after nearly a year and a half since Russia launched its unprovoked war of aggression, your administration has failed to articulate a strategy outlining how U.S. assistance to Ukraine will help them achieve victory over Russia, while also prioritizing and advancing American interests. A pledge to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” is not a strategy.
Moreover, the deliberately slow pace of providing critical weapon systems to Ukraine leads us to believe that the administration is prepared to do just enough to ensure Ukraine does not lose, but stops short of helping Ukraine decisively defeat Russian forces. This would be a mistake. To deter unprovoked aggression, violations of sovereignty and territorial integrity must be met with a resolute response.
Our concerns about your administration’s objectives in Ukraine are heightened by recent reports of ongoing Track 1.5 and Track 2 diplomacy with Russian officials and people close to President Vladimir Putin, but which allegedly exclude Ukrainian officials. These meetings have not been briefed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That is unacceptable. We must be briefed on your administration’s strategy for bringing Russia’s war on Ukraine to a successful end and all your efforts to engage with Russia. Also, as it is Ukrainian—not American—soldiers fighting, it would be reprehensible to exclude Kyiv from discussions about its own future.
To better understand the administration’s strategy on Ukraine, as well as the status of official and unofficial discussions about how to end the war, we request you answer the following questions in writing:
For the Committees to fulfill our Constitutional responsibility of conducting foreign policy oversight and ensuring American taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and effectively, it is critical the administration engage transparently with Congress on its strategy for supporting Ukraine and how it envisions this support will bring the war to a victorious end. We request that you reply to these critical questions no later than November 6, 2023.