Romney defends US aid to Ukraine: ‘We care about human life’
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Thursday defended the continued aid that the United States is providing to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia, saying that as a country “we care about human life.”
Romney said in a video post on his Twitter account that the U.S. support for Ukraine is both the “right thing” to do and necessary for U.S. national security interests.
“I begin, of course, with just the humanitarian reality, which is we care about human life and about the suffering that’s going on in Ukraine,” he said. “We’re just appalled by the fact that Russia has invaded a peaceful, sovereign nation next door.”
Romney said the U.S. has more prosperity when the world is more peaceful, and conflict makes the U.S. “less well off.”
He said history has shown that when one country sees that it can invade another country without any consequence or reaction from others, that type of mentality continues spreading throughout the world and eventually involves the U.S. getting attacked.
“That’s one of the lessons of history, which is that violence in the world spreads, and it ultimately comes to our own shores,” he said.
Romney said Russia is a “geopolitical adversary,” and the U.S. is helping to deplete the Russian military through its aid to Ukraine. He said Russia is China’s only “real” ally, so weakening Russia is also an effective way to weaken China.
He said the spending given to Ukraine is “of the same manner” of the spending for national defense. He said the U.S. spends about $750 billion on national defense, and the $20 billion to $40 billion being spent on Ukraine is “basically in the same category.”
“It is defending American interests, America’s national security against adversaries that would threaten us,” he said.
Romney’s comments come as the U.S. has committed to sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine to help step up its defenses against Russia.
Bipartisan support for continuing aid for Ukraine has remained strong, but some more conservative Republicans have raised questions about the amount of aid that the U.S. is sending to Ukraine.
The government funding omnibus bill that was passed last month allocated an additional $45 billion for Ukraine.
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