Trump National Security Officials Call to Arm Ukraine 'to the Teeth'

Two former national security officials in the Trump administration released an opinion piece Friday, saying they "want to see Ukraine armed to the teeth" with lethal aid from the United States.

Ret. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the former national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, and former chief of staff of the U.S. National Security Council Fred Fleitz wrote in The Western Journal that they "strongly advocate" for sending additional arms and weaponry to Ukraine.

However, they "oppose a no-fly zone and other ways to engage American military forces in the Ukraine conflict, because we do not believe the U.S. should risk war with Russia. Such a conflict could escalate into a wider war in Europe or a nuclear conflict."

Kellogg and Fleitz add they "want to see Ukraine armed to the teeth, and we are very concerned that the Biden administration appears to be dragging its feet on providing promised arms and has turned down other requests for weapons from Ukrainian officials."

They also push back against a recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal by investigative journalist Jeffrey Scott Shapiro that said "some America-first conservatives," including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk, "have made comments that sound like Russian propaganda."

Kellogg and Fleitz claim "this is pure nonsense," adding, "while there may be others in Washington who casually call themselves 'America First,' we and our colleagues at the America First Policy Institute served alongside Trump in senior positions at the White House and in departments and agencies throughout the executive branch.

"We are the leaders of the America First movement. We have been abundantly clear in condemning Putin's destructive invasion of Ukraine and the vile atrocities his military is committing there."

The former officials concluded they "unquestionably oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and we want the U.S. to send the Ukrainian military the weapons it needs to defend its country and defeat Russia."

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