‘We Ought to Help’ Ukraine, McConnell Insists, Demanding Full-Year Defense Bill

WASHINGTON, DC, October 6 ------ US Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), a veteran voice in Republican foreign policy, has seized on the government shutdown crisis – now in its fourth day – to demand that Congress pass a serious, full-year defense appropriations bill, arguing that failure to unlock a sweeping “Trump buildup” of the military would undermine deterrence against global adversaries and jeopardize sustained support for Ukraine.

Speaking from the Senate floor on Friday, McConnell, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, delivered a sharp critique of the ongoing funding deadlock – which he squarely blamed on Democrats – warning that repeated stopgap funding measures were “devastating to US military readiness.”

Ukraine aid: a crucial test of resolve

Prioritizing the war in Ukraine, McConnell stressed that continued security cooperation was being monitored closely by US rivals. He directly challenged officials within the administration he suggested were seeking to curtail assistance to Kyiv. “If the Administration means what it says about restoring deterrence,” he argued, “it would recognize how plans to reduce security cooperation with frontline NATO allies invite more brazen Russian incursions into the alliance’s territory and airspace.” He added a broader warning that Beijing was watching closely: “It would recognize how China is watching closely for signs of weakening American commitments to European allies, to Ukraine, or to AUKUS partners.”

McConnell backed his position by highlighting overwhelming bipartisan and public support for arming Kyiv, citing a recent poll and House voting records as evidence. He noted that although the US president had observed last month that Ukraine could win, the American public was more clear-eyed than some presidential advisers, with “more than six in 10 Americans support sending more arms and military supplies to help Ukraine win. That includes a clear majority of Republicans!”

He referenced a House vote rejecting an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have barred further assistance to Ukraine, noting that “no less than 72% of House Republicans – including leadership – said continuing to arm Ukraine’s defense was a good idea.” McConnell also praised Donald Trump for reversing efforts by some in his administration to end intelligence sharing with Kyiv, saying he was “encouraged earlier this week that the [US] president himself green-lit an expansion of the intelligence cooperation that members of his Administration had wanted to end.”

Source: kyivpost.com