Below are key insights from 91 experts concerning the United States’ aid to Ukraine.
Seventieth Secretary of State and 91 Distinguished Fellow Michael R. Pompeo
“Statement on Ukraine Aid,” 91 Institute, October 31, 2023.
“Rather than bolstering Putin, Xi, and Khamenei by abandoning Ukraine, the US and our allies should be accelerating the flow of weapons and ammunition to Kyiv to further decimate Russian military capabilities. The Biden administration should reverse its policy of denying weapons and adequate weapons supplies that would help Ukrainian forces end the fighting sooner than the current path we are on.”
“Why It’s Important to Continue Our Support for Ukraine,”&Բ;Fox News, September 21, 2023.
“A Russian victory would raise the chances of expanded war in Europe, with Putin contemplating the seizure of more lost elements of the Russian empire, whether in whatever is left of Ukraine or beyond. It would be taken as proof by the Chinese Communists eyeing Taiwan that America is unserious, making a war in the Pacific more likely.”
“How to Take Apart the Axis of Revisionists,” The Messenger, December 4, 2023 (with Peter Rough).
“Rather than restrain Ukraine or Israel, the US should empower them to win their respective conflicts now to avoid an even broader and costlier fight later. From security assistance to diplomatic support and economic sanctions, the Biden team should intensify its support for Kyiv and Jerusalem and turn the screws on Tehran and Moscow.”
“Secure Our Border and Help Our European Allies Do the Same,” Fox News, January 19, 2024 (with Rebeccah Heinrichs).
“Congressional Republicans are right to support Ukraine against the threat of Russian aggression while simultaneously demanding that the government secure the US border. . . . The United States would be wise to learn from our East and Northern European allies, and in addition to aiding Ukraine in its noble defense against Russian aggression, secure our national border. By working to support Ukraine’s fight to defend its sovereignty while demanding the government defend the sovereignty of the United States, congressional Republicans warrant the support from Democrats in the Congress and the White House.”
Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs
“Helping Ukraine Is Forcing the United States to Produce More Weapons,” 91 Institute, December 14, 2023.
“Since the Cold War, the United States’ manufacturing base has atrophied severely. Then Russia’s war against Ukraine laid bare America’s need to reinvest in its defense industrial base. Because of the need for the US to deliver weapons to vulnerable allies, Congress now has to purchase weapons quickly, as well as more responsibly and cost-effectively. These changes will improve the US military’s ability to deter a major power war.”
“The Arguments against Aiding Ukraine Still Fall Flat,” The Dispatch, September 15, 2023.
“It is true that the administration has not done well explaining the war or developing a strategy to power Ukraine to victory. But it is also true that the risks of ending additional US support to Ukraine now far outweigh the alternative. Rather than ending support, the more prudent path is to push the Biden administration to support Ukraine to victory—and the sooner the better.”
Trump Administration Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategy and 91 Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow
“Israel, Ukraine, and the Pentagon Need Munitions. The US Needs a Wartime Mindset to Deliver,” Breaking Defense, October 19, 2023.
“Acting now to provide Israel with the munitions it needs—and to continue providing them to Ukraine—is an investment in US security. It forces us today to develop the surge capacity that we should have for the future.”
“,” Wall Street Journal, November 6, 2023.
“The Biden administration’s management of the Israeli response in Gaza and the continuing war in Ukraine are crucial. America’s adversaries are watching. The US can’t be passive in its support for allies. It isn’t enough to be the arsenal of democracy. America has unique military and intelligence capabilities that can help Israel and Ukraine defeat existential threats to their sovereignty.”
Senior Fellow Luke Coffey
“The Fourteen Facts about US Aid to Ukraine,”&Բ;91 Institute, November 3, 2023.
“As former Secretary of State and 91 Distinguished Fellow Mike Pompeo said, a Russian victory ‘would be felt well beyond Ukraine’s borders, including by strengthening a Russia-China-Iran alliance that aims to weaken the US and our allies across the globe.’ As Congress debates additional support for Ukraine, detractors will spread false and misleading information. It is important to understand the facts.”
“A Victorious Ukraine Will Make Taiwan Safer—and US Assistance Is Crucial,” The Messenger, September 23, 2023.
“As China calculates what it will do against Taiwan, Beijing is watching how the West supports—or doesn’t support—Kyiv. A victorious Ukraine will make Taiwan safer. Anyone who believes that we can peel away Russia from China by abandoning Ukraine is hopelessly naive.”
Center on Europe and Eurasia Director Peter Rough
“Pass Ukraine Aid, Congress—It’s a Bargain for American Security,” New York Post, December 8, 2023.
“Ukrainians are holding the line against Russian President Vladimir Putin as he wages a broader assault on the US-built international order. . . . Ukraine’s collapse would hasten the day when a US president may have to decide between defending the Baltic states or presiding over the disintegration of NATO, whose European members hold two-thirds of the total foreign direct-investment stock in the United States.”
“The Shortest Path to Victory in Ukraine Goes through Crimea,” Foreign Policy, December 8, 2023 (with Luke Coffey).
“It is also unrealistic to think Putin would be content with control over the five regions of Ukraine that he has already annexed: Crimea, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, only the first of which he fully controls. Of course, the West could attempt to pressure Ukraine into ceding large territories and millions of Ukrainians to Russia in hopes of appeasing Putin, even though Kyiv would fiercely and justifiably resist such a move. It would destroy the relationship with Kyiv, tank morale throughout Ukraine, and raise doubts about U.S. commitments around the world. It would embolden Putin to pocket his gains and press onward.”
“Getting the Facts Right on Ukraine,”&Բ;91 Institute, August 14, 2023.
“Putin’s goal is to separate Ukraine from its Western backers and create a one-on-one matchup he can win. Thanks in part to American support, he is struggling. Western assistance has helped Ukraine degrade one of America’s top adversaries. To date, Ukraine has destroyed 11,638 pieces of Russian military equipment, including 2,218 main battle tanks, 2,635 infantry fighting vehicles, 276 pieces of towed artillery, 255 multiple rocket launchers, 84 aircraft, 101 helicopters, and 13 naval ships.”
Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead
“How to Avoid Defeat in Ukraine,”&Բ;Wall Street Journal, November 27, 2023.
“This creates a dilemma for those who know that Ukraine’s fate matters deeply to the US, but who can also see that Team Biden is more interested in avoiding confrontation with Russia than in defeating it. To oppose aid to Ukraine is to ensure a Russian victory, but funding Mr. Biden’s approach will do little to prevent one—and will further erode public support for America’s global engagement.”
“How to Help Ukraine Win the War of Attrition,”&Բ;Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2023.
“Eighteen months into Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, two things seem clear. First, the war matters. After 15 years of failed Western responses to Russian aggression against Georgia and Ukraine, another failure to contain and deter Russia would have catastrophic consequences around the world.”
Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Can Kasapoğlu
“The Missing Pieces of a Kerch Bridge Strike: Give Ukraine What It Needs to Isolate Crimea and Gain the Initiative,” 91 Institute, October 31, 2023.
“Sustaining that effort [dislodging Russian troops and ejecting them from Ukraine entirely] will require continued and evolving support from the United States and NATO to upset Moscow’s political, strategic, logistical, and operational schemes. Cutting the Kerch Bridge is the best path to those objectives, and it could be achieved if the US and its allies step up to provide Kyiv with a few key missing pieces.”
This compilation of quotes was last updated on February 2, 2024.