Amid simmering tensions, a bipartisan group of US Senators visited Kyiv and promised the US would provide Ukraine with more weapons if Russia invades the country.
After the delegation met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sen. Richard Blumenthal said if Russia invades the US will “impose crippling economic sanctions, but more importantly, we will give the people of Ukraine the arms, lethal arms they need to defend their lives and livelihoods.”
Russia strongly denies that it is plotting an invasion, but the US won’t let the narrative die. Last week, Blumenthal joined 25 other Senate Democrats in introducing a bill that would sanction Russia and give more arms to Ukraine if the president determines Russia is being hostile towards its neighbor.
The Senate bill would authorize an additional $500 million in military aid for Ukraine on top of the $300 million authorized by the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Since the 2014 US-backed coup in Kyiv, the US has provided Ukraine with about $2.5 billion in military aid.
In Kyiv, Blumenthal said the US could give Ukraine more anti-tank Javelin missiles, as well as stinger missiles, small arms, and boats. The other Senators that joined Blumenthal in Ukraine were Rob Portman (R-OH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
Russia is not happy about the push to arm Ukraine, and it’s not just the US supplying weapons. The UK announced that it began providing Ukraine with anti-tank weapons. “We have taken the decision to supply Ukraine with light anti-armor defensive weapon systems,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Parliament, adding that the first delivery was made Monday.
Reprinted with permission from Antiwar.com.
