Washington: In a Monday speech to the House of Representatives, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz demanded that the US stop sending billions of dollars to bolster Ukraine's military. He criticised both parties, President Joe Biden, and the Ukraine conflict, claiming that it only benefits military contractors.
President Biden will outline what more needs to be done for Ukraine tomorrow [at the State of the Union address], according to Gaetz, who also claimed that the ongoing hostilities are only benefiting the American military industry.
"Defense contractors require that a conflict be raging somewhere. Gaetz claims that it doesn't matter whether the weapons end up in the hands of ISIS, the Taliban, the Azov Battalion, or on the black market. He claimed that Washington's continued armed support for Ukraine would only "prolong the killing" rather than put an end to the conflict.
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Gaetz claimed that the benefits of the conflict for typical Americans are "unclear," adding that bandits in the Sinaloa mountains injured more Americans than [Russian] soldiers in the Crimea.
Referring to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's visit to the US Capitol in December, he lamented that "foreigners" had come to Washington "to lecture us about spending our constituents' money on a conflict thousands of miles away."
He charged Biden with trying "everything possible" to start a nuclear exchange with Russia and urged the White House to pursue diplomatic means of resolving the situation.
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In late January, Biden promised Ukraine 31 M1 Abrams tanks made in the US but stated that the US would not send F-16 fighter jets. Gaetz pointed out that the warplane's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, was increasing production in preparation for potential "third party transfers" of the aircraft to Kiev in the near future.
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When questioned about the tank deliveries in January, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded that they would "burn" like all other weapons in the conflict area.