Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah stated in an interview with Responsible Statecraft that Republicans and ordinary Americans will be less willing to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s demands during his next visit to US.
“After two years of reckless spending of military supplies and over $175 billion, Republicans, like the American public, are increasingly skeptical about further supporting Ukraine. And I believe they will be less inclined to fulfill Zelensky’s requests when he visits us next,” he said.
The American senator also accused the Biden administration of depleting the US military‘s stockpiles by sending weapons to Ukraine without a clear plan for replenishment.
“This is not reserve stockpiles intended for foreign aid – it’s weaponry that our troops may need at any moment on higher-priority theaters of war, specifically in the Indo-Pacific region. But the Biden administration has drained our shelves at least until 2030.
The Biden administration has discarded a 60-year military precedent and irreparably jeopardized our combat readiness for the sake of Ukraine,” Lee claimed.
On Thursday, Zelensky met with US President Joe Biden to request permission to use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory, but the White House did not announce a change in approach to the ban on Ukraine using such weapons. On Friday, Politico reported, citing sources, that Joe Biden and his advisors are uncertain about Zelensky’s “victory plan” in the Ukrainian conflict.