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There is serious concern among Ukrainian officials, lawmakers and experts over the outcome of the coming November midterms in the U.S., as several conservative Republicans have made a point of declaring they would cut off support to Kyiv if the GOP takes the House in November.
"Statements of some representatives of the Republican party in U.S. media, especially among supporters of ex-president Trump in U.S. Congress to cut the military and financial support to Ukraine, do concern Ukrainians a lot," Maxim Yali, Ukrainian political expert and foreign affairs commentator, told Newsweek.
Yali added that it is "especially disturbing" that these kind of comments are finding their way into U.S. media more and more often.
On Tuesday, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy said Republicans won't write a "blank check" for Ukraine if the party manages to retake the House majority in the midterm elections, suggesting that record-high inflation will change people's willingness to support Kyiv's fight against the Moscow invasion.
"I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they're not going to write a blank check to Ukraine," McCarthy told Punchbowl News on Tuesday. "Ukraine is important, but at the same time it can't be the only thing they do, and it can't be a blank check."
McCarthy's statement reflects a clear shift in the GOP party, within which until recently only far-right pro-Trump Reps. like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene positioned themselves against sending more aid Ukraine.
In May, 57 House Republicans voted against a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine.
Yali said that comments like that of McCarthy "only intensify our concerns and fears, because he is not just one of many congressmen, but the leader of the party in the House of Representatives."
Yali is concerned about the long-term consequences of such statements, and worries that when McCarthy said he'll cut aid to Ukraine he "may not express just his own personal view—which as we know differ even among Republicans in Congress—but that such statements may influence the voters and form a narrative among Republican voters and congressmen after the elections."
The Ukrainian political expert said a campaign discrediting Zelensky and Kyiv is already ongoing on conservative American media, where actors like host Tucker Carlson "are not just calling for a reduction of the military and financial support to Ukraine, but also condemning President Zelensky and Ukrainian authorities for failing to achieve an agreement in peace negotiations with Russians in April, manipulating facts," Yali said.
Yali said these are "obvious manipulations and attempts to discredit Zelensky and President Biden, and at the same time to cover Putin and his crimes against humanity in Ukraine just for one reason—to win elections and to gain majority in Congress."
Despite concerns, Ukrainian officials and lawmakers still hope that the U.S. will still support Kyiv, no matter who holds the House and the Senate after November.
"We are of course very hopeful that these elections, regardless of the results, won't change the political attitude towards supporting Ukraine. We will still hope that there will be bipartisan support," Dmytro Natalukha, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, told Newsweek.
"But the recent signals we hear from the American press is pretty worrisome, because basically what they mean is that at least at least some politicians admit that they would be rather refocus on the internal problems."
Addressing McCarthy's latest statement, Natalukha said Ukraine does not wish to interfere with the U.S. internal politics and issues that have to do with the U.S. internal economy, such as inflation.
"There's a huge crisis in the world, but we should look at the source of this crisis," he said, pointing out at Russia's role in the current energy crisis in Europe and at the conflict's role in fueling inflation across the entire planet.
Without U.S. support and the provision of weapons like HIMARS "it would be impossible" for Ukraine to achieve similar successes to the one attained by Ukrainian troops in the southeastern region of the country last month.
"Now we need U.S. military support more than ever, taking into account that time could play on our side in the short-term before winter comes and newly mobilized soldiers in Russia are trained and equipped," Yali said. "The less military support we get now, the more difficult it will be to defeat Russian occupiers and to de-occupy Ukrainian territories."
Natalukha agrees. "If this were up to us, if it depended completely on us, we would end this war in a matter of weeks or months," he said.
"But it doesn't, unfortunately, because we still don't have the resources and the weapons required to move forward and to defeat Russia completely in terms of taking it out of our territories. And Russia is progressing in terms of non-conventional ways to to attack us."
The Ukrainian MP said the earlier they receive weapons and support from the U.S., "the sooner we will end this war."
Natalukha said a Ukrainian victory would be "better for everyone," because the war "it's a global matter already" that could "rack up chaos in Europe, causing incredible political damage to the relationships among EU countries and to the relations between the U.S. and the EU" if Vladimir Putin was to claim some kind of victory in Ukraine.
Ukraine's member of parliament Sviatoslav Yurash, the Kyiv-based youngest MP in the country, said he's confident that no matter the outcome of the midterms, support for Ukraine will prevail in the U.S.
"Republicans have many different voices, and the vast majority of them stand in support of Ukraine," he said.
This support is "fundamental" for Kyiv, he said.
"Symbolically, it shows us that we are not alone in this fight, that we are supported by the leader of the free world. Second, as far as the material contribution to this battle goes, this has been crucial as we are lacking a great deal when fighting the second biggest army on Earth. Our battle wouldn't possible if not for the support of the Americans."
About the writer
Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more