Putin

Pelosi Makes Unannounced Visit to Ukraine, Vows U.S. Support ‘Until the Fight Is Done’

May 2, 2022 By Caroline Downey 5 Comments

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) made an unannounced trip to war-torn Ukraine over the weekend, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reiterating that America stands in solidarity with the country.

She was accompanied by a group of senior House Democrats, including Foreign Affairs Committee chair Gregory Meeks, Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff, and Rules Committee chair Jim McGovern.

A video posted to Zelensky’s Twitter showed the members of Congress walking down the road in Kyiv to greet Zelensky outside the presidential palace.

“We are visiting you to say thank you for your fight for freedom,” Pelosi said during the meeting with Ukrainian officials, according to the video and an NBC News translation. “Your fight is a fight for everyone, and so our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done.”

“This shows that the United States today is a leader in strong support for Ukraine during the war against the aggression of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said, thanking the U.S. for the backing.

“Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine,” the group said in a statement. “When we return to the United States, we will do so further informed, deeply inspired and ready to do what is needed to help the Ukrainian people as they defend democracy for their nation and for the world.”

With military clashes ongoing, the lawmakers’ journey was potentially dangerous and politically significant. Pelosi is now the most senior U.S. official to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion began. President Biden and Vice President Harris have not visited the nation since Russia launched its incursion. Late last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine to meet with Zelensky.

“Our commitment is to be there for you until the fight is done,” Pelosi told Zelensky, the Twitter video indicates.

Click here to read the full article at the National Review

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: Pelosi, Putin, Ukraine

Trump Praised Putin’s Justification To Invade Ukraine As ‘Genius’ And ‘Savvy’

February 24, 2022 By Bryan Metzger and John Haltiwanger 12 Comments

Former President Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin in a podcast interview on Tuesday, describing the Russian president’s justification for invading Ukraine as “savvy” and “genius.”

In an appearance on the “Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,” Trump said Putin’s recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk — two-thirds of which are controlled by Ukraine and are not recognized by most other nations but backed by Russia — was a smart move.

“I went in yesterday, and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” Trump said when asked about the news. “I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper.”

Trump baselessly claimed that the reason the Russian president chose to invade Ukraine now — rather than during his own presidency — was that he had a better relationship with Putin than President Joe Biden did.

“I knew Putin very well. I got along with him great. He liked me. I liked him,” Trump said. “I mean, you know, he’s a tough cookie, got a lot of the great charm and a lot of pride. But the way he — and he loves his country, you know? He loves his country.”

Trump’s assertion that Putin moved to invade Ukraine because Trump was no longer in office ignored that Russia was fueling a war against Ukrainian forces in the Donbas throughout his time in the White House. Moreover, Trump was impeached in 2019, in part, for withholding about $400 million in military aid from Ukraine as it contended with this conflict against Kremlin-backed rebels. The war has killed over 13,000 people and displaced 1.5 million.

Trump froze the congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine as he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into Biden and his son Hunter over baseless allegations of corruption. He also wanted Zelensky to pursue an inquiry into a bogus conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Asked what went wrong with respect to Ukraine, Trump on Tuesday repeated his long-standing and false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

“Well, what went wrong was a rigged election and what went wrong is a candidate that shouldn’t be there and a man that has no concept of what he’s doing,” Trump said, later adding that an invasion “never would have happened with us — had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened.”

Trump also tied the escalating tensions in Ukraine to long-standing conservative grievances about immigration, saying that the US should employ military force akin to that used by Russia to ensure the US-Mexico border was secure.

“We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen,” Trump said. “They’re going to keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy. … I know him very well — very, very well.”

And when asked whether he was concerned about the US becoming militarily involved in a conflict in Ukraine — which the US has resisted — Trump again brought up the US-Mexico border.

“I’d rather see them send soldiers to our southern border,” he said, referring to US troops. “I don’t like the idea he’s sending a small number of troops.”

Trump also said the US had not responded forcefully enough to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“It’s a joke compared to what the other side does. You know, he sends 3,000 troops. I heard this morning, 3,000 troops. What’s that going to do except get in trouble?” Trump said. “No, I would like to see our southern border protected, and they are handling Ukraine so badly.”