Over the weekend, Florida Rep. Michael Waltz (R) reaffirmed his stance that the United States should do more to help Ukraine fend against the ongoing invasion from Russia. After an exchange with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley during a hearing, Waltz penned an op-ed for FOX News discussing the ensuing war calling for the Biden Administration to “send Ukraine the damn MiGs.”
Noting that “Ukraine has shocked the world with a valiant defense of its country, Waltz commented that “rather than swiftly take the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as Russia had anticipated and our own defense department believed, the Ukrainian military has brought the Russian military to a standstill across the country.”
While President Biden has assured that the United States will continue to aid Ukraine, Waltz argues that the U.S. is not providing satisfactory help. He noted that the U.S. has helped Ukraine defend itself in the war, but “it’s now time we help them go on offense to retake the Russian occupied parts of Ukraine.”
Specifically, Waltz argues that the U.S. should supply Ukraine with “all the guns, tanks, and planes” that can be used in order for Ukraine to “retake Crimea and the Donbas to restore their borders.”
He then criticizes the President for having allegedly “balked at the notion of providing ‘offensive’ arms that could be deemed too escalatory and invite further aggression for Putin.” However, Waltz calls on the president “to end the notion of only providing ‘defensive’ weaponry.”
A number of prominent Republicans have called on the Biden administration to provide more weapons while the president has enacted several sanctions against Vladimir Putin.
Once again, directing criticism at Milley, Waltz expressed that Milley had told him that the U.S. was providing training to the Ukrainian people, which he says contrasts with what NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wolters told him the previous week.
