U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green says American support for Ukraine has likely prevented Russia from attacking other eastern European nations.
The Republican Congressman is a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and recently attended a NATO security conference in Munich where member nations discussed how to best continue military, economic, and diplomatic support for Ukraine as it battles Russian invaders.
Ukraine is not a member of NATO, but a number of other countries in the region opposed to Russia’s invasion are a part of the alliance. That means the U.S. would have an obligation to actively defend NATO members if they were attacked by Russia.
Guthrie said U.S. backing of the Ukrainian effort has sent a strong message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“I don’t want men and women in American uniform fighting in eastern Europe, and I think the best way to prevent is to fight the Russian army, to bring them to the negotiating table with Ukraine soldiers. And the Ukraine soldiers would not be successful without our support.”
According to Guthrie, the Russian leader has made no secret concerning his ultimate foreign policy goals.
“If you take a look at what Vladimir Putin has said, his goal is to reestablish the Russian empire. So, if he had gone through Ukraine as easily as he had expected to, in three to seven days, maybe two weeks at the most, then he would be absolutely sitting on the border—and you can just look at the map—with Poland, which is a NATO ally,” Guthrie said, while also pointing out the danger to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, three small Baltic states that are former Soviet republics and now NATO members.
It’s been a little more than a year since Russia sent its military into Ukraine in what
Putin thought would be a quick military operation. But repeated Russian military failures and Ukraine’s ability to incorporate a symphony of western weapons against its enemy has led to catastrophic battlefield defeats and casualties.
While some in the west have called on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia on an end to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected such calls, saying no negotiations can be had while Russians illegally occupy Ukrainian territory.
Rep. Guthrie told WKU Public Radio he thinks “it needs to be up to the Ukrainian people to decide at what point they go to the negotiating table and what they’re willing to give up.”
Possible impacts of Russian invasion on China and Taiwan
Guthrie said the way Russia views Ukraine is similar to how Chinese President Xi Jinping views Taiwan. There’s long been fears in Taiwan and the west that China might launch an invasion of the self-governing island.
Guthrie said he hopes Beijing is taking note of the west’s support of Ukraine.
“If we were doing nothing to help the Ukrainians accomplish what they’re accomplishing, then I think it would have enticed Xi even more, which I’m not sure he won’t go after Taiwan, and hopefully he won’t.
CIA Director William Burns recently said US intelligence shows Xi has told his military to draw up plans for a possible invasion of Taiwan by 2027.
You can hear more of Rep. Brett Guthrie’s conversation with WKU Public Radio, which was recorded on March 2, by clicking the “Listen” button at the top of this page.
