McCarthy says Russia “probably” would not have invaded Ukraine if the United States had acted earlier to arm Kyiv. “Ukraine was longing for the ability to defend itself,” the GOP leader told Fox News Sunday. Since the start of the conflict on February 24, the Biden government has sent nearly $ 3 billion in aid to Ukraine.
The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said on Sunday that the Biden government was too slow to supply weapons to Ukraine, arguing that if the weapons had been delivered to Kyiv earlier, Russia “probably” would not have invaded. country. During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, the Republican from California told Washington’s chief correspondent Mike Emanuel that while the United States is not deploying troops to the country, the government should be more careful about sending weapons. abroad. “This is going to get louder and louder, and what really needs to happen is that Ukraine is not asking American men and women to fight, they are just asking for weapons to defend themselves,” he said. “If we had done these things earlier instead of waiting for Russia to invade, they probably would never have invaded if we had done it sooner.” McCarthy argued that if weapons had been transported to Ukraine earlier, “thousands of lives” could have been saved. “Ukraine longed for the ability to defend itself,” he said. “If we had transported the weapons to Ukraine earlier, so that they could defend themselves, it would have saved thousands of lives and probably Putin’s decision not to enter.” Since the start of the conflict – which began on February 24 – the Biden government has been a staunch supporter of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government, sending nearly $ 3 billion into the country as they confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military. The story goes on The U.S. has also sent more than 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more than 5,000 Javelin anti-tank systems and an additional 7,000 anti-tank systems to Ukraine since the conflict began, including critical military assistance, according to the Department of Defense. In addition, the administration has shipped more than 50 million rounds of ammunition and laser-guided missile systems, along with small arms and ammunition radar systems. However, McCarthy reprimanded the administration for not allowing the transport of MiG-29 fighter jets to Poland. U.S. lawmakers have noted that the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets is a matter for allies to decide, such as Poland. “It’s not our decision to make, it’s Poland’s decision and there is a question of how effective it would be,” said Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee. But last month, the Pentagon rejected Poland’s proposal to move MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States Ramstein Air Base in Germany. At the time, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the proposal “raises serious concerns about the entire NATO alliance.” McCarthy said the move was a missed opportunity to provide additional assistance. “The president has denied Ukraine and denied Poland that it provided MiGs to Ukraine to protect them on flyovers. All this is a wrong move in the future,” he said. Read the original article in Business Insider
