The effect is to foster the feeling in Ukrainian society that the war in Donbas, where the majority of the fighting is happening, is distant and hopeless.On Sunday, Russian troops took full control of Avdiika, a town in central Ukraine that has featured some of the heaviest fighting of the war. In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President Biden blamed the retreat on congressional Republicans. “This morning, Ukraine’s military was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka after Ukrainian soldiers had to ration ammunition due to dwindling supplies as a result of congressional inaction, resulting in Russia’s first notable gains in months,” read a White House statement addressing the call between the two leaders. “President Biden emphasized the need for Congress to urgently pass the national security supplemental funding bill to resupply Ukrainian forces.”
An American veteran who has been training Ukrainian soldiers in combat said he’s disgusted with the Republican party that he says is either “totally compromised by Russia and is willfully aiding Russian interests” or the GOP is chalk-full of “sycophantic cowards who would gladly watch Ukrainians get killed if it meant Trump had a higher chance of winning reelection.”
Having instructed Ukrainian soldiers as a foreign volunteer since the outbreak of the invasion in early 2022, he is intimately aware of how important Pentagon weapons transfers have been to Kyiv’s war effort.