Uniting colleagues from across the political aisle, a letter written to President Joe Biden this week from 17 members of the House called for more missiles and radar capabilities to help Ukraine weather the ongoing Russian invasion.
Despite overwhelming numerical and technical odds, the Ukrainian military has thus far largely held its ground against the Russian advance for 42 days. Together, seven Democrats and 10 Republicans have now called for the United States to complete the transfer of its S-300 surface-to-air missile system to the beleaguered Eastern European nation, to provide increased radar capabilities for its air space, and supply it with anti-ship missiles for defending the Ukrainian coastline.
“As Ukraine continues to defend its nation from Russia’s unprovoked invasion, the U.S. and our allies must provide further support and assistance to ensure that the Ukrainian armed forces can protect innocent civilians and uphold the sovereignty of their nation…” the lawmakers wrote. “As we have seen with the devastation inflicted by Russian forces on the port city of Mariupol, however, it is critical that we do more to protect Ukraine and its people from Russia’s indiscriminate attacks.”
The call came on the heels of accusations of war crimes against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces after dozens of civilian bodies were discovered in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. The battered corpses prompted a fresh round of sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats from Europe.
The proposed actions from the United States would, according to their supporters, help ensure NATO allies gained appropriate backfill to protect their airspace while helping secure that of Ukraine, improve the Ukrainian air defense system overall and, potentially, reduce Russia’s foothold in the Mediterranean, which could otherwise increase European reliance on Russian energy and reduce the security of NATO allies around the Black Sea.