Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement today regarding the three-year anniversary of Russia’s escalation in Ukraine:
“Three years ago today, as Russia escalated its unprovoked 2014 invasion and occupation of Ukraine, I predicted that the world would watch closely how the United States responded. Foes would search for signs of weakness, and friends would hope for signs of strength. I shared this hope – and have worked hard to help realize it – but have more often shared disappointment in costly failures.
“For years, even as Ukraine’s brave defense of its sovereignty exceeded expectations, America’s response under President Biden was a sluggish, piecemeal affair constantly plagued by self-deterring fears of Russian escalation. Time and time again, the previous Administration squandered opportunities for decisive battlefield impact by withholding critical weapons from Ukraine until political pressure forced its hand.
“Meanwhile, this terrible conflict has driven many European NATO allies to make long-overdue investments in defense industrial capacity. Over the past three years, Europe’s aid commitments to Ukraine have more than doubled the United States’. Today, the trans-Atlantic alliance looks with greater suspicion at the influence of Putin’s strategic partner in Beijing.
“Likewise, from the other side of the globe, Indo-Pacific allies recognize that Russian success in Ukraine will encourage the PRC’s own ‘special military operations’ and coordinated aggression across their region. They’ve left little room for doubt – by vocal and material support for Ukraine – that the consequences of Western weakness would be global. If America’s primary strategic objective is deterring Chinese aggression, it is difficult to imagine a more self-defeating step than the willful alienation of the allies we will need to accomplish it, in Europe and Asia, alike.
“But even as America’s allies see our interests converging and the most successful military alliance in the history of the world restores its commitments to hard power, the previous Administration’s shameful hesitation and half-measures threaten to give way to something even more disgraceful: the obstinate denial of America’s security interest in Ukraine’s success. Refusing to acknowledge Russia as the undeniable and unprovoked aggressor is more than an unseemly moral equivalency – it reflects a gross misunderstanding of the nature of negotiations and leverage.
“Blame for this human catastrophe rests solely on Vladimir Putin. Here’s how we know: If Russian forces laid down their arms, Europe would be at peace. If Ukrainian forces laid down theirs, Putin’s aims would not stop with Kyiv. Mistaking this fact is as embarrassing as it is costly.
“‘Peace for our time’ is a noble end, but hope that appeasement will check the ambitions of this aggressor is as naïve today as it was in 1939. America is right to seek an end to this war, but an end that fails to constrain Russian ambition, ensure Ukrainian sovereignty, or strengthen American credibility with both allies and adversaries is no end at all. Instead, such a hollow peace would invite further aggression.
“Today, an axis of aggressors from Beijing to Moscow seeks an outcome in Ukraine that undermines the credibility of American deterrence and leaves U.S. interests more vulnerable. Without a clear and resolute commitment to the leadership and order that underpins our prosperity and security, America’s adversaries will receive exactly what they hope for. There is no question that the entire world is watching.”
