Ukrainian lawmaker Lesia Vasylenko on Thursday said some U.S. Republican presidential candidate comments over support for her country are concerning.
“With among the United States politicians claiming that they may reduce the support to Ukraine, well, that is actually quite concerning, and upsetting in a way because america [is] the country that has been the strongest supporter of democracy and has been the baseline for democracy,” Vasylenko told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe,” in response to statements made through the inaugural debate of Republican presidential candidates on Wednesday.
The difficulty sharply divides the nine leading GOP contenders for the highest U.S. job. Through the Republican discussion, outspoken entrepreneur and political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy said he wouldn’t support additional aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, calling U.S. support for Ukraine “disastrous” and a distraction from domestic issues.
Ramaswamy was rebuked by opponent Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, who has argued for the availability of kit and ammunition to Ukraine.
“Ukraine is working with each the Republicans and the Democrats and all political circles in america to make certain that there is all-round support, because what Ukraine is doing is, we’re actually fighting here on the bottom with our own resources, especially human resources, for the very concept of democracy to remain alive,” Ukraine politician Vasylenko told CNBC, adding that a Ukrainian victory would only be possible with “enough weapons, fighter jets, long-range missiles to fight with.”
Former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the primary Republican candidates’ debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 23, 2023.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
The U.S. has provided greater than $75 billion in aid to Ukraine across humanitarian, financial and military support since Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, in line with the Council on Foreign Relations.
Washington is by far the largest backer of military assistance to Ukraine, and has committed the equivalent of $43 billion for the reason that start of the war. That compares with £4.6 billion ($5.81 billion) committed by the U.K. and roughly 5.6 billion euros ($6.06 billion) from the European Union, which approved the availability of lethal weapons to a 3rd country for the primary time in its history.
U.S military supplies to Ukraine have included drones, aircraft, ammunition and heavy artillery. Officials from the U.K. and U.S. caused a diplomatic stir at a NATO summit in July by suggesting Ukraine is failing to indicate “gratitude” for the availability of weaponry.
Ukraine in June launched its highly anticipated counteroffensive operation in Russia-occupied territories, but progress has been difficult and slow along a highly fortified 600-mile front line.
Kyiv hopes U.S.-made and supplied weaponry, including F-16 jets and cluster munitions, could boost its progress.
“Somewhere, Ukrainian troops are in a position to advance faster and firmly reposition the Ukrainian flag over the Ukrainian territories. Some places are way more complicated, especially those where Russia has held the effective control for an extended time, and where their military units were in a position to quite literally dig themselves into the land territory of Ukraine,” Vasylenko told CNBC.
“The method to expedite the counteroffensive and make certain that it’s effective … is to supply Ukraine with more weapons, more ammunition, more means to guard our skies and counter the aerial attacks that Russia is launching on a each day basis across all of Ukraine.”
— CNBC’s Amanda Macias contributed to this story
