Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Mike Turner, the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released a joint statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the war.
“[Vladimir] Putin’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine has lasted a year too long,” Rogers, McCaul, and Turner wrote. “The people of Ukraine have shown unmatched strength and courage, and with the aid of western weaponry, they have decimated Russia’s war machine. In supporting Ukraine’s fight, House Republicans have also continued to conduct robust oversight of U.S. assistance – protecting the American taxpayer while ensuring these weapons continue to make an impact on the battlefield.”
“The gruesome Russian war crimes and atrocities must end,” the three Congressmen wrote. “President [Joe] Biden needs to stop dragging his feet on providing the lethal aid necessary to end this war. Continued half-measures by the Biden administration will only drive up the cost of this war in lives and dollars.”
Most international and military observers had expected the vaunted Russian army to roll over undermanned Ukraine. Instead of folding to the onslaught, the Ukrainians stopped an assault on their capitol at Kiev, sunk the Russian Navy’s flagship on the Black Sea, and thwarted a Russian advance on Kherson and Mariupol intended to cut the Ukrainians.
The Ukrainians followed that with a late summer and fall offensive that pushed the Russians back to the heavily contested Donbas region and recaptured the cities of Kharkiv and Bakhmut. Now Russia appears poised to launch a major spring offensive. The U.S. and its western allies have committed tanks, combat vehicles, rocket launchers, Lancer antitank missiles, artillery, and money to help Ukraine defend its territorial integrity.
The war has seen massive battles with tanks versus tanks and artillery versus artillery. This is the most intense combat that has taken place in Europe since World War II. The Pentagon estimates that over 200,000 people have died on both sides. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed, and 8 million persons have been displaced.
The Biden administration has announced another round of aid for Ukraine.
“Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine.” President Biden said in a statement. “I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments. And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine. Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support – and that support will endure.”
Russia and Ukraine have a long-shared history that dates back to the Kievan Rus in the tenth century.
Rogers is in his eleventh term representing Alabama’s Third Congressional District. He previously served in the Alabama House of Representatives and on the Calhoun County Commission. He and his family live in Saks.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
