Senior Fellow—Hudson Institute (designated as an “undesirable organization” by Russia) | Sanctioned by Russia | Слава Україні!
November 3, 2023
THREAD As Congress debates additional support for Ukraine, the anti-Ukraine swamp will fill their echo chamber by peddling myths and half-truths.
Here are the facts
FACT: We are not writing “blank checks” to Ukraine:
✔Every dollar spent in support of Ukraine is authorized by Congress and is used for a specific purpose
✔Approximately $70 billion of aid never leaves the U.S. Instead, it goes to support our worlding leading defense industry
FACT: For a modest sum of money, the US helps Ukraine dismantle Russia’s military w/out a single American in harm’s way:
✔+300k Russian troops KIA/WIA, 13,000 major pieces of equipment removed from battlefield
✔The original Russian invasion force from Feb 2022 no longer exists!
FACT: There is plenty of oversight for Ukraine aid:
✔Ukraine Oversight Interagency Working Group has 160 officials across 20 agencies monitoring aid
✔So far: “Investigations related to the Ukraine response have not yet substantiated significant
waste, fraud, or abuse.”
FACT: Europeans have now overtaken the U.S. the largest donor to Ukraine:
✔According to Kiel Institute’s aid tracker total European commitments are now more than double
those of the U.S.
✔20 European countries have given more to Ukraine than the U.S. as a percentage of GDP
FACT: A victorious Ukraine means a safer Taiwan:
✔Russia is China’s partner. A weakened Russia means a weaker China
✔Beijing is also watching how Western powers support Ukraine, so a strong and victorious Ukraine
makes Taiwan stronger and deters Chinese aggression
FACT: Europe’s stability matters to US economy:
✔45/50 states export more to Europe than China
✔When Americans are building something to be exported, that is an American job
✔European stability, which Russia threatens, brings untold benefits to the economy the American
worker
FACT: Lessons from Ukraine make our military stronger:
✔Shortcomings in defense industry are exposed & being addressed. Thankfully, these were
uncovered when US not at war
✔The performance of US made hardware gets a real-world combat test in a way not possible in a
peacetime
FACT: Lessons learned from arming Ukraine mean Taiwan is getting weapons faster:
✔For the first time ever, Presidential Drawdown Authority is being used for Taiwan
✔Taiwan’s order of HIMARS will now be arriving 1 year earlier than planned after U.S. reprioritized the sale
FACT: Iran and North Korea enable Russia to attack Ukraine. Russia supports Hamas:
✔Iran giving thousands of drones for use against Ukraine
✔North Korea giving +1 million artillery rounds for use against Ukraine
✔Russia protects Hamas at the UN. Moscow recently hosted Hamas
FACT: Ukraine is not “America’s new forever war”:
✔No US troops are fighting against Russia inside Ukraine
✔Ukrainians are not asking for, nor do they want, US troops to help them fight Russia
✔The US is not a belligerent in the conflict
FACT: The US is not engaged in a proxy war against Russia:
✔Definition of a “proxy war” is a war “fought by states acting at the instigation or on behalf of
other states”
✔The US has never instigated Ukraine to fight. The US is not forcing the Ukraine to fight on its
behalf
FACT: The US must provide both military & non-military to achieve the greatest affect:
✔Russia’s invasion eliminated 30% of Ukraine’s economy
✔Essential public services must function (e.g. law enforcement, utility workers, etc) for Ukraine to
remain on a total war footing
FACT: US aid to Ukraine does not cost “$900 per American household” as some suggest:
✔Income tax is not levied evenly across households
✔the top 1% of earners paid 42.3% of all federal income tax. The bottom 50% (those making
$42,184 or less) paid only 2.3% of all income tax.
FACT: US military aid to Ukraine is a boost to our defense industry:
✔After seeing effectiveness of US military equipment in Ukraine, NATO countries alone have *so
far* placed $90 billion in orders for US made hardware.
✔This makes America safer while creating highly-paid jobs