Russian President Vladimir Putin is "controlling the timeline" for a potential invasion of Ukraine because of President Joe Biden's "weakness," and he'll not only try to take Ukraine, but other former Soviet bloc states that he sees as part of the Russian Federation, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler said Thursday on Newsmax.
"He views them as almost breakaway states from the old USSR," the Pennsylvania Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "That's why it's so important that we do not give concessions, that we're adamant that if Ukraine wants to join NATO, and that we say there's room at the table with the alliance, and we don't give anything to Russian negotiations."
His comments came before Secretary of State Antony Blinken's comments to the United Nations Security Council, during which he said he was not speaking to start a war, but to "prevent one."
But Putin, Reschenthaler said, has "put himself in a win-win situation with Biden, because he knows that he can use military force to invade or take over Ukraine," but Biden will have "giveaways" for the Russian leader.
"If Biden was a stronger leader, if the West was more united behind a stronger United States, Putin would not be in this position," Reschenthaler said. "He should not be allowed to continue to accumulate troops on the border. We should be immediately shutting down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, moving forward with sanctions, and making clear to the world that if anybody wants to join NATO, the nation should be welcomed into the alliance."
The Biden administration, meanwhile, has been working to remove Putin's element of surprise, which could be a "little bit of both" when it comes to whether the tactic is effective or if instead, it is creating panic for Ukraine.
"What Ukraine needs more than anything is just lethal aid," said Reschenthaler. "We need to make sure they have anti-tank missiles, ground-to-air missiles, what they need to wage a guerilla war. We need Russia to know that the Ukrainian military will have the material and the weapons they need to fight a long, protracted war against Russia, and to make this as painful to Putin as possible."
Further, if Russia and Putin think they can roll into Ukraine and wrap up the invasion and subdue it in a matter of days, "then there's very little disincentive for Putin not to invade," the congressman said.
If there is an invasion, though, "there will be more ramifications than just Ukraine," he continued.
"Remember that we are in a treaty obligation of the Budapest agreement to protect Ukraine against Russian aggression," he said. "The Ukrainian government gave up their nuclear weapons voluntarily, with the assurance of Great Britain and the United States, that we would protect them against Russian aggression."
Further, he warned that if the United States backs down or fails, or gives concessions to Russia, that could spur a "nuclear arms race with a bunch of second-rate nations."
The "real threat," he added, is with China, as it is watching Biden and his response to Putin's aggression at a time when it is sizing up an invasion of Taiwan.
"This is just not about Ukraine," the congressman said. "It's about having this instability on the international stage and also preventing China from taking aggressive actions toward the free and independent nation of Taiwan."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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