Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, a veteran of special operations forces, will become the new US National Security Advisor, replacing Jake Sullivan. This was written by Voice of America journalist Ostap Yarysh on his page on X (formerly Twitter).
Waltz has previously supported bills to help Ukraine and even visited Kyiv as part of congressional delegations. However, in April 2024, he voted against an additional $60 billion aid package. Waltz explained his position as follows: “The era of bottomless checks for Ukraine from Congress is over. Europe must do more to support Ukraine, and the United States must focus on securing its southern border.”
In addition, Waltz was critical of the Biden administration’s lack of a clear strategy to support Ukraine, noting the lack of rapid assistance and sanctions against the Russian energy sector. He emphasized that if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, it could threaten NATO countries, and therefore stopping it before NATO gets involved in a war is the right move. However, Waltz believes that the burden of supporting Ukraine should not fall on the shoulders of the United States alone – he called for more contributions from Western European countries, especially Germany and France.
At the same time, Waltz opposed Ukraine’s accession to NATO, believing that it could lead to a US war with Russia, and questioned Ukraine’s readiness to contribute to collective security. He also raised the issue of controlling the weapons the US provides to Ukraine to make sure they do not end up on the black market.
Nevertheless, in May 2022, Waltz criticized Biden for his reluctance to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles capable of reaching Russian territory, which, in his opinion, could strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
According to the official information on the White House website, Congressman Mike Volz is a retired National Guard colonel, former political advisor to the White House and the Pentagon, and a Green Beret. He is the first Green Beret to be elected to Congress.
Leave a Reply