Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dodged Republicans’ questions about when the war in his country will stop.
Mr. Zelenskyy, welcomed to Capitol Hill last December by a Democratic House majority that offered him a joint session to give remarks, was not given that platform this year with Republicans in control of the lower chamber.
Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the members of Congress who met with the Ukrainian leader Thursday, said Mr. Zelenskyy likely was protected from pointed questions from skeptical lawmakers like himself.
“He was asked a couple of times, and this is a hard forum for him, because he’s here to ask for money. ’Is victory possible? What can the U.S. do to assure you victory?’ And he didn’t answer that question,” Mr. Hawley said.
Mr. Zelenskyy also was asked about a negotiated peace, but responded that the conflict was frozen and that Russia couldn’t be trusted to negotiate in good faith.
“What I take from this is it sounds to me like this is a stalemate, which is exactly what the chairman of the Joint Chiefs said yesterday,” Mr. Hawley said. “He predicted a stalemate indefinitely. … What is [the Biden] administration’s plan, then? What are we gonna do?”
SEE ALSO: House lawmakers meet with Zelenskyy, call for victory plan
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, told reporters his problem is not with Mr. Zelenskyy but with President Biden “funding both sides of the war.”
“He’s sending billions of dollars to the Ukrainians. And he’s simultaneously sending millions of dollars to the Iranians who are providing the drones that are killing Ukrainian soldiers,” Mr. Cruz said. “It makes no sense for the Biden administration to fund both sides of this war.”
He added, “The reason the Biden White House is doing so is because they prioritize an Iran nuclear deal more highly than they prioritize victory in Ukraine.”
Other Senate Republicans are ready to support Mr. Biden’s request for an additional $24 billion for Ukraine aid from Congress.
“This morning I was proud to welcome President Zelenskyy to the Capitol. And I was glad our colleagues had an opportunity to hear from him firsthand and ask questions about the state of Ukraine’s counteroffensive,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said.
“American support for Ukraine is not charity. It’s an investment in our own direct interests – not least because degrading Russia’s military power helps to deter our primary strategic adversary, China,” he added.
“Well, I have great respect for the courage and leadership for President Zelenskky in this moment in history,” Sen. Steve Daines of Montana told The Washington Times. “It’s important to me that we have the resources to make sure we secure our border of United States. It’s completely out of control. It’s also important Ukraine wins this war against Russia. And we should be able to do both.”
The U.S. has supplied a third of the weapons going to the Ukrainian military. Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Congress has signed off on $43 billion in funding.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.