Kurt Volker, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO, told Newsmax on Tuesday the Biden administration needs to stop "holding back" on assisting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Volker told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" that the U.S. should begin sending over advanced weaponry in order to prove President Joe Biden's Monday commitment to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We have been holding back on our assistance to Ukraine," Volker told Van Susteren. "We've done some things. But we said, 'No, we won't do that. We won't provide our longest-range artillery.' For weeks and months, we were saying, 'We won't provide tanks,' and we just changed our minds.
"What about aircraft? Will we provide that? What about air defenses to protect Ukrainian civilians? If he has gone to Kyiv and staked U.S. credibility on Ukraine's success, why are we not doing everything we can to make sure that Ukraine succeeds?"
His comments arrive one day after Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian Royal Palace to meet with Zelenskyy, where he pledged U.S. support for "as long as it takes" against Russia.
During the nearly five-hour trip, Biden also promised half a billion in new assistance to Ukraine, including "artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments."
Volker, who once served under former President Donald Trump as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, also emphasized Congress has a role in securing the necessary aid.
"You have Democrats and Republicans in Congress ... all of them pushing the administration: 'Why are you not doing more?'" Volker said, noting House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is in Kyiv on Tuesday to discuss just that.
"And you have the same questions from Democrats [on lagging Ukraine aid] that may not say them because they don't want to embarrass the White House, but they're thinking them," he added.
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