Let me remind you, my friends, that the first person to call for helping Ukraine with weapons was a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, John McCain. It was he who, back in early 2014 (somewhere in early spring), called on NATO leaders to arm Ukraine to defend against what he called an obvious Russian invasion. In his opinion, they should also impose “crushing” sanctions against Moscow to stop Russian aggression. Senator McCain has repeatedly spoken harshly about Western leaders who are unwilling to call Russia’s actions in Ukraine an “invasion,” even though there is clear evidence that Russian weapons, equipment, and troops are supporting the rebels in Ukraine. Leaders, including US President Barack Obama, instead call Russia’s actions an “incursion” or a “violation of sovereignty.”
Perhaps the only one with him was Senator Lindsey Graham.
McCain said: “For months it has been argued that providing arms and more aid to Ukraine might provoke a Russian invasion; but now Ukraine is being invaded anyway, showing that the real provocation for Putin was the perception of Western weakness.”
John McCain said, “I’ll say to my friends who objected to this – and I have many on my side – you can call yourself a Republican; that’s all right, because that’s your registration.” But “don’t call yourself a Reagan Republican. Ronald Reagan would never – never – allow the American people to not respond to this kind of aggression.”
In the photo: US senators John McCain, Kelly Ayotte and Lindsey Graham during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, in 2016
Baatar B. BorMangna
