"Plan for victory in Ukraine": US Republicans set out their vision for US role in defeating Russia

The US Foreign Affairs Committee, House Armed Services Committee, and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, all of which are chaired by Republicans, have issued a joint document in which they criticise President Joe Biden’s administration for its lack of assistance to Ukraine and demand decisive actions in this regard.

Source: Ukrinform news agency, citing the document

Details: The document, entitled the "Proposed Plan for Victory in Ukraine", was signed by Chairman Michael McCaul of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairman Mike Rogers of the House Armed Services Committee, and Chairman Mike Turner of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. It was drafted in late 2023 but has only now started to stir discussions among relevant stakeholders.

The plan’s cover shows a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin standing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, and the self-proclaimed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

The plan is intended to address critical issues in relation to the US and its allies’ support for Ukraine and to set out a victory plan in which Ukraine wins and Russia loses.

The plan contains five sections: The Threat, Proposed Plan for Victory,  Oversight, Burden Sharing, and Timeline of Biden’s Deadly Delays in Sending Weapons to Ukraine.

The Foreign Affairs Committee press release stated that Russia and an alliance consisting of China, Iran, Iran’s proxies (like Hamas and Hezbollah), and North Korea, are "working together to undermine American interests around the world". "Their goal is to diminish the US economy, fracture key alliances, and establish a new world order of totalitarianism. The United States has not faced a more dangerous array of adversaries since World War II," the press release said.

The authors of the report said in the press release that the US Congress has a "responsibility to defend freedom from the likes of Russia, China, and Iran. Many of you have questioned why we should support Ukraine, and this report will not only address your questions but will provide you with the information to inform others, especially our constituencies, why our support is needed."

"Biden’s mantra of supporting Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’ is a losing strategy," the report itself says.

"Instead, House Republicans believe President Biden should present a credible plan for victory and arm Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win as soon as possible," the report continues.

"Since the first day of the war, Biden’s debilitating hesitation to provide critical weapons to Ukraine has delayed a Ukrainian victory," the report also says. Ukraine needs the longest-range variant of ATACMS (300 km, not the 160 km Ukraine was given), F-16 fighters, and sufficient quantities of cluster munitions, artillery, air defences, and armour "to make a difference on the battlefield". "This delay is costing Ukrainian lives and the American taxpayer," the report stresses.

The authors of the report believe that Ukraine’s path to victory requires "(1) providing critical weapons to Ukraine at the speed of relevance, (2) tightening sanctions on the Putin regime, and (3) transferring frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine."

The report stresses the importance of oversight over the US aid, though it admits that the countless checks conducted to date have not detected any significant violations.

"Defeating Putin in Ukraine now will prevent a Russian invasion of a NATO ally, which would be immeasurably more costly in terms of American blood and treasure," the report says.

"As a percentage of GDP, the US ranks just 30th in total assistance to Ukraine, with Poland, the Baltic states, the UK, Norway, and others contributing more in terms of this metric. In terms of security assistance by GDP, the US ranks 14th," the report notes.

Support for Ukraine is not "charity", the press release added.

"After President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, supporting Ukraine to defeat Putin’s invading forces is critical to restoring American deterrence in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific," the press release said.

The Proposed Plan for Victory in Ukraine "will ensure that Ukraine is able to make the needed advances on the battlefield to force Putin to the negotiating table," the press release promised.

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