Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Republicans in the US Senate, explained why it is in the United States' interest to continue and even increase assistance to Ukraine in its war against russia. This is reported by Voice of America.
"We stand here against China, russia, North Korea, and Iran. That already tells you that you're on the right side. Secondly, we're not losing a single American soldier. Ukrainians are fighting on their own. In terms of our GDP, the amount we provide for these efforts in Ukraine is really small. If putin wins, the next country in line will be a NATO country. And I think it's much wiser to stop this invasion, push him back, and the only ones ready to participate in this are the Ukrainians themselves. Ukrainians are showing courage and bravery, and I think it inspires the rest of the world, which chooses its leaders, countries not ruled by autocrats". - McConnell believes.
Furthermore, he explained that providing arms to Ukraine contributes to the development of the industrial base in the United States and creates jobs for Americans.
"When we send weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, we are replacing many of our assets with more modern, advanced equipment. We would have had to rebuild our industrial base even without the war in Ukraine due to the growing competition from russia and China", - he noted.
According to his opinion, the decline in support for continued assistance to Ukraine among Americans, primarily stems from direct opposition from former President Donald Trump, who has a significant influence on the Republican electorate. According to one of the latest polls (ABC News/Washington Post), 41% of respondents believe that the US is doing too much to support Ukraine. Among Republican voters, this figure is 58%, while among Democrats, it's 22%.
"The reason support among Republicans is declining is the opposition from the former president. This is bad news. The good news is that the leadership of Congress (committee leaders) in armed forces, foreign affairs, intelligence, budgetary matters - they are all in the camp of supporting the Ukrainians. I think the American people are somewhat misled. I don't think they understand the facts", - he said.
CEPA awarded the leader of the Senate Republicans for transatlantic leadership, acknowledging his steadfast leadership and support for Ukraine.
As a reminder, on September 26, the US Senate voted in favor of a mechanism for approving a resolution on the budget, which includes $6 billion in aid to Ukraine. However, in the House of Representatives, a significant portion of Republicans opposes including aid to Ukraine in the bills necessary to fund the US government's operations.
As previously reported, former President Trump's main rival for the candidacy for President of the United States, DeSantis, called putin a war criminal.