WASHINGTON, Jan 28 Four Republican congressmen in a letter to the president The United States complained to Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that the conflict in Ukraine was being subsidized by American taxpayers and asked for clarification from them in connection with plans to transfer Abrams tanks to Kyiv.
Biden announced the transfer of 31 tanks to the Ukrainian military earlier this week.< br>
«The escalation of this conflict continues to come at the expense of the American taxpayer,» the congressmen wrote. A copy of the appeal is published by the Daily Caller.
Troy Nels, Paul Gosar, Lauren Bobert and Eli Crane called it «shameful» to subsidize Ukraine while ignoring internal security problems.
«There is no doubt that Ukraine is a strategic interest for the United States, but it is not a NATO ally, and we are in no way and in no capacity obliged to defend its borders,» the authors of the appeal pointed out.
Regarding the supply of tanks, congressmen drew attention to the fact that the decision was contrary to the position of the military. They also requested information on how the control and reporting for the weapons transferred to Ukraine is set up. «How does your administration plan to account for the loss and destruction of any items of US defense assistance and reimburse American taxpayers?» — the authors of the letter asked.
Last spring, Moscow sent a note to NATO member countries because of the transfer of weapons to Ukrainian troops. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any shipments containing military equipment will become a legitimate target for the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Russia has been conducting a military special operation in Ukraine since February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin called its task «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» According to the president, the ultimate goal of the operation is the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that guarantee Russia's security.