Ukraine Reacts to Marjorie Taylor Greene's Vow to Defund Country

Kyiv is confident that rhetoric about cutting military aid to Ukraine will not change Washington's commitment to fighting Russian aggression, no matter what happens in next week's U.S. midterm elections, Ukrainian MPs told Newsweek.

Since January 2021, the United States has committed around $20 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, and concern over the cost has been a talking point among some conservatives.

Video went viral of Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene telling a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday that "not another penny will go to Ukraine" if the GOP retakes the House of Representatives.

But Sviatoslav Yurash, a Duma for President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People Party said that he was "very confident in bipartisan consensus in the U.S. on the matter of supporting our struggle" following the midterms no matter who controls the House.

"Marjorie Taylor Greene is not a lead part of the Republican discussion," he told Newsweek from Kyiv. "We are very aware of the debates on the right and the left and Marjorie Taylor Greene came up then. The fact that there are extreme right and extreme left in America which have a different point of view is obvious because America is a democracy."

Last month, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said if Republicans were to win a House majority it would not issue a "blank check" to Ukraine, although he later clarified he wanted better scrutiny of aid, not for it to be cut altogether.

The Pentagon said it had sent experts to Ukraine to inspect American-supplied arms being used against Russia as part of "proactive steps" to stop "the illicit diversion of U.S.-provided weapons," although there was no evidence that any such diversions were taking place.

"We aren't asking so that aid to Ukraine is limitless," said Yurash. "We are very clear on the point of where it is spent and we are very welcoming to any kind of oversight or missions coming to Ukraine to check and verify on the use of everything."

Last month, the progressive caucus of the House of Representatives retracted a letter sent by 30 Democrats calling for President Joe Biden to engage in direct talks with Russia to end the war.

Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal said the letter had been released without vetting and regretted that its call for a diplomatic end to the war was being conflated with McCarthy questioning the extent of American military aid for Kyiv.

"They have a democracy, there are different parts of the discussion," said Yurash. "We are hearing the extreme right and extreme left and their commitment to isolationism in America and we are very glad to see that it is on the extremes.

"As far as the mainstream perspective is concerned on both sides of the aisle, support for Ukraine is very clear," he added.

Another Ukrainian MP, Maryan Zablotskyy, told Newsweek that he was confident "support for Ukraine will be maintained and likely increased" whatever happens at the ballot box on November 8.

"There are statements, and there are actions," Zablotskyy said. "I do remember that it was Donald Trump with the support from Republicans, who first started to provide Javelins (surface-to-air missiles) to Ukraine. Donald Trump also imposed sanctions on Iran, which sends drones to bomb our cities.

"Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which were lifted by the current U.S. president in the first weeks in office, only to be reimposed again later," he said.

"In terms of actions, I am confident that Ukraine will receive bipartisan support because the majority of Americans support Ukraine, and we are eternally grateful to all Americans for their support."

Newsweek reached out to Marjorie Taylor Greene for comment.