Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over one month since the beginning of Putin’s unjust war on Ukraine, and following a bipartisan Senate delegation visit to Poland and Germany, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and a larger group of bipartisan senators in requesting answers from President Joe Biden’s national security advisor (NSA), Jake Sullivan, on the speed, specifics, and supply of lethal aid provided to Ukraine.
While in Poland, Senator Capito and the bipartisan group heard directly from members of the Ukrainian civil society who passionately stated the lethal aid is flowing too slowly and that the sovereign country needs more specific lethal aid to win the war. Following the bipartisan trip, Senator Capito and her colleagues are pushing the administration for answers on what they have provided thus far and what more America and our allies can provide to Ukraine to win the war.
In their letter to NSA Sullivan, the senators write, “We request a timely response to these questions detailing your provisions, risk assessments, and strategy to enable Ukraine to defeat Vladimir Putin and return to sovereignty and freedom.
- A list of all lethal and nonlethal aid provided to date and status of delivery or estimated delivery to Ukraine.
- A list of all equipment purchased or allocated for the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund that remains within U.S. stocks or control, and an assessment of the feasibility to provide such equipment to Ukraine.
- A complete list of all Army Pre-positioned Stock (APS) or Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) stocks in Europe by item and location.
- An analysis of available equipment within allied and partner nations that could be procured or transferred to Ukraine and subsequently backfilled with NATO equipment.
- A list of equipment, production capacity, and war reserve inventories the United States is capable of delivering to backfill to NATO members who have provided capabilities to Ukraine.”
Senator Capito and her colleagues conclude by writing, “The U.S. mission in Ukraine must go beyond ensuring the country merely has the means to defend itself against Russian aggression. The strategy must deliver Ukraine necessary weapons to defend itself, counter the Russian forces’ advance, and give the Ukrainian people a chance to win this war. Success cannot be a Russian-occupied Ukraine – it must be a free, independent, and sovereign Ukraine. Authoritarianism cannot prevail in this conflict. Defending freedom in Ukraine is defending freedom everywhere. We anxiously await your response.”
Senators Capito, Ernst, and Gillibrand were joined on the letter by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Angus King (I-Maine), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
To read the full letter, click here.
For more on the bipartisan delegation visit to Poland and Germany, click here.
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