Lawmakers are increasingly accusing President Biden of intentionally delaying aid to Ukraine and treating the country’s fight against Russian invaders as if it were a lost cause.
Mr. Biden’s foot-dragging began with delaying support to Ukraine while Russia built up troops on the border in preparation for the Feb. 24 invasion and continued with his recent veto of a deal to send Polish MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, said Sen. Ted Cruz.
Mr. Cruz, Texas Republican, laid out his case against Mr. Biden in an interview with The Washington Times. It included the White House repeatedly delaying military aid before the invasion and withholding crucial air defense systems from Ukraine now.
“The reason for that is President Biden and his entire team is resigned to failure in this war,” Mr. Cruz said. “They do not believe victory is possible and so they are trying to manage for defeat. They’re not trying to win the war.”
He insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army can be defeated, as the Soviet Union’s army was defeated in Afghanistan by U.S.-armed Mujahideen.
“The focus should be on getting the administration to do the right thing,” Mr. Cruz said. “Putin can be defeated, but not through an American policy of weakness and appeasement.”
White House National Security spokesperson Emily Horne said Mr. Cruz’s claims “aren’t supported by the facts.” She noted that since the start of the Biden administration it has provided a record $2 billion in security aid to Ukraine.
“The assistance includes U.S.-produced short-range air defense systems as well as anti-tank and anti-armor systems which the Ukrainians have been using to great effect, such as Stingers and Javelins, as well as equipment like helicopters and radar systems that give the Ukrainians early warning and targeting data,” she said in a statement to the Times.
The first deliveries of a new $800 million military aid package from the U.S. began arriving in Ukraine on Wednesday, CNN reported.
However, Mr. Cruz said the pace of delivery and the withholding of crucial air support — namely the MiGs and missile defense systems — reveal Mr. Biden’s defeatist mentality.
“In this war, they do not believe victory is possible,” Mr. Cruz said. “They are trying to manage for defeat. They’re not trying to win the war. They’re not providing the military equipment the Ukrainians need and have asked for, and they’re also not using energy effectively as an economic weapon to take away the billions of dollars of oil and gas revenue that’s funding Putin’s war machine.”
He joins a rising chorus of misgivings about the U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine war, which has rained destruction upon Ukraine and sent more than 3 million refugees fleeing into neighboring countries.
Democrats and Republicans have grown impatient over the president’s hesitation on a deal to transfer Polish MiG fighters to Ukraine, which Mr. Biden has warned could escalate the war.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, urged Mr. Biden to send more firepower to Ukraine, which has beat back Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army for nearly a month.
“What happened is Putin threatened Biden, and he folded like a cheap suit. Give [Ukraine] the planes.” Mr. Graham said Sunday on Fox News.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, also called on Mr. Biden to send aircraft and other military hardware after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appealed to Congress last week for weapons or a no-fly zone.
“Ukrainians can win a fair fight on the ground, but they face a reign of terror from the sky,” he said, adding that the U.S. needs to help “through drones, anti-air defenses and planes.”
Mr. Cruz said Mr. Biden’s slow-walk of aid began in April and December when he held a huge package of weapons for Ukraine. In December 2021, the administration sat on $200 million of military aid for Ukraine for several weeks over fears that it would heighten Russian aggression, according to multiple reports.
The package included lethal and nonlethal assistance for Ukraine, including Javelin anti-tank munitions, counter-artillery radars, sniper rifles and electronic warfare equipment.
The White House also delayed an aid package last spring that would have assisted Ukraine, again citing concerns of Russian escalation.
The April package was delivered to Kyiv months later after Mr. Zelenskyy visited Washington in August.
“Right now, in the midst of this conflict, Joe Biden personally vetoed providing the Polish MiGs to the Ukrainian military even though President Zelenskyy told every member of Congress that getting those fighter jets was his number one priority,” said Mr. Cruz. “The Biden administration is likewise slow-walking S-300 missile defense systems.”
Ms. Horne disputed Mr. Cruz’s claims that the administration is withholding S-300 missile systems from Ukraine.
“We strongly support the transfer of anti-air systems to Ukraine. We have provided more than 1,000 of our own anti-aircraft systems, and helped the Ukrainians acquire other Soviet- and Russian-made air defense systems they’ve been trained to use, including helping replenish munitions for those systems,” she said. “We are not able to share further details for security reasons.”
Mr. Biden is traveling to Belgium and Poland this week to attend an emergency NATO summit on the war and discuss with allies about aid and more sanctions on Russia.
• Jeff Mordock and S.A. Miller contributed to this story.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
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