J.D. Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, called Ukraine’s demands for billions more in military aid “disgraceful” after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington this week asking for more funds.
Vance told Fox News on Monday:
“It’s utterly disgraceful. We are about to go through the United States Senate tomorrow — a very undignified process where Zelensky comes to town and demands that you give him — the American taxpayer gives him — another $61 billion, and, by the way, if you want to secure your border first, you are actually a Putin puppet. He said this publicly today. I think it’s disgraceful, I think it’s grotesque and I think it comes at a time when Republicans are actually showing some unity and some courage about the importance of the American southern border. So this is purely designed to apply pressure on Republicans to give up their fight on the border and write another blank check to Ukraine. I’m not doing it and I don’t think Republicans should go forward at all.”
Vance concluded that the Ukrainian “summer offensive” was not as successful as the press or Ukrainians let on: with “minimal” territorial gains. He added:
“The only thing that’s going to accomplish is turning Ukraine into a permanent client state of the United States,” he said. “They’re going to be unable to pay their pensioners. They’re going to be unable to pay their basic functions of civil government –That is where this policy has led us…”
Zelensky will meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday. He is also expected to meet with Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill to discuss an additional aid package for Ukraine.
Republican lawmakers are pushing to include border security measures in the bill, delaying its passage, and the Biden administration has warned that the US could run out of resources to support Ukraine if Congress does not approve further aid.
