UCCA: Senator J.D. Vance Wrong on Ukraine
‘Lacks Fundamental Understanding of Why U.S. Must Support Its Allies’
The following statement was submitted by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
Numerous times before and after his election to office, the junior senator from the State of Ohio has sought to destroy the strategic partnership shared between Ukraine and the United States of America. More recently, Sen. J.D. Vance has expressed, “Maybe the thing that I’m most proud of is that we are on the cusp of radically changing U.S. policy towards Ukraine,” and elicited praise from putin’s interviewer, Tucker Carlson, as a person who “deserves quite a bit [of credit],” for shifting opinions on Ukraine.
So it should come as no surprise to supporters of Ukraine that Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has introduced legislation which would condition the United States’ ability to send certain equipment to Ukraine. While the U.S. continues to dominate global arms sales, accounting for 40% of total weapons exports over the past five years (in contrast to ruSSia’s share declining from 22% to 16%), Senator Vance continues to push the false narrative that the arsenal of democracy “cannot make enough weapons to support a land war in Europe and also protect our own national security.” With this latest proposal, Senator Vance once again demonstrated a shocking ignorance of foreign policy and of the United States’ role as a global leader.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the nation’s largest representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, would remind the junior senator that the military invasion and subsequent armed occupation of Ukrainian sovereign territory was conducted by a corrupt dictatorship which outranks all European nations by far on their index of corruption. Ukraine, in contrast, is an open and democratic society whose citizens have waged a decades-long fight against corruption. Furthermore, not only is U.S. oversight on spending related to Ukraine more than at any time in history, but soon after russia’s full-scale invasion, the United States established the Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group, whereby more than 160 officials across 20 federal agencies monitor US assistance to Ukraine. Moreover, the Office of Inspector Generals (OIGs) has a permanent staff in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv and US government officials visit on a regular basis to monitor the aid.
Unfortunately, the work of lawmakers like Senator Vance has diminished the credibility of the United States as a reliable ally around the world. “Vance’s introduction of this bill is a deliberate tactic to torpedo United States’ supplemental aid package to Ukraine, at a time when Ukraine is defending the west against russian aggression and tyranny,” stated UCCA President Andriy Futey. With Congress dithering, Washington has been forced to halt aid commitments to Ukraine. Without the resumption of regular deliveries of critically needed weapons, the credibility of the U.S. commitment to uphold the postwar order will come to be doubted.
“We must stand by all our democratic allies,” declared President Ronald Reagan during his 1985 State of the Union address. “And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives . . . to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth.” Today’s russia poses an immediate threat to the free and open international system. In the view of the Republican Study Committee, “the threat russia still poses to our nation should not be underestimated,” and further quotes former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, in describing russia as “the principal threat” to our nation. We urge the senator to listen to the words of President Reagan and those of his fellow Republican elected officials, and live up to U.S. commitments by arming Ukraine now.