“Bipartisan Landslide” Will Show Supporting Ukraine Serves Key American Interests
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Ukraine:
“Today, the Senate will approve more lethal assistance for Ukraine. And it’s going to be a bipartisan landslide.
“As a matter of moral principle, the United States is proud to support a sovereign democracy’s self-defense. Innocent Ukrainians have been subjected to wanton cruelty.
“But aid for Ukraine goes far beyond charity. The future of America’s security and core strategic interests will be shaped by the outcome of this fight.
“Anyone concerned about the cost of supporting a Ukrainian victory should consider the much larger costs should Ukraine lose.
“In Europe, close allies and trading relationships would suddenly be hundreds of miles closer to the territory of an aggressive, emboldened autocrat. Our own security requirements on the continent would grow substantially.
“And adversaries on the other side of the world would be tempted to follow Russia’s lead. Communist China has already been stepping up its saber-rattling toward the free people of Taiwan. More tough talk. More airspace incursions. More evidence of their utter disregard for the rule of law.
“Our friends in the Pacific see this connection clearly. As Japan’s Prime Minister put it, ‘we must show that there are consequences… to violence by Russia.’ ‘Ukraine may be East Asia tomorrow.’
“Many of us are convinced that China is our most significant strategic challenge. Successful, long-term competition with the PRC will require having European partners firmly on our side. We will sorely need the trust and the relationships that abandoning Ukraine would exhaust.
“Turning our backs on Ukraine would harm our goals in Asia, not advance them.
“I will be proud to vote for America’s national interest and vote to approve this badly-needed assistance today. I encourage every Senator on both sides to join the bipartisan supermajority.
“The most expensive and painful thing America could possibly do in the long run would be to stop investing in sovereignty, stability, and deterrence before it is too late.”
###
Related Issues: China, House Democrats, National Security, Senate Democrats, Russia
Next Previous
