Ukraine’s United Nations Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, who was an exchange student at University of Kansas in the 1990s, said it would be a mistake for the United States to soften military aid to Ukraine just as Russia was joined on the battlefield by troops from North Korea. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations said President-elect Donald Trump and the newly elected Republican-controlled Congress would undermine U.S. credibility by withdrawing military aid from Ukraine as the war with Russia entered a more dangerous phase with introduction of troops from North Korea.
In February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded a conflict with Ukraine by ordering a full-scale invasion of the country. Putin’s “special military operation” was condemned by the UN General Assembly and prompted billions of dollars in U.S. military assistance.
UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, who was an exchange student at University of Kansas in the early 1990s, said it was difficult to decipher Trump’s campaign promise to abruptly end the war after replacing President Joe Biden in January. In April, more than 100 GOP members of Congress voted against a $60 billion aid package that was approved for Ukraine.
“I hope it is very clear to the Americans that if America wants to be great, America cannot let Putin win the war,” the career diplomat said. “Are you ready to face the Americans losing the major war in Europe?”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of State reported North Korean troops joined Russian forces in combat against Ukrainian units.
“It’s a very dangerous situation beyond Ukraine,” Kyslytsya said Tuesday at KU’s Robert Dole Institute of Politics. “It’s the very first time the North Korean military is deployed outside North Korea. Most of them will be killed, given the statistics of how we eliminate Russians every day, every week.”
The ambassador said a broader consideration for the United States was that North Korean forces could use fighting in Ukraine to test weapons and gather combat experience. North Koreans who survive the war and return home could apply their real-world experiences by fighting South Korea, he said.
He said investments by the United States in military aid to Ukraine represented less than 1% of the U.S. military budget. He estimated 90% of federal appropriations for munitions destined for Ukraine were earmarked for contracts with U.S. manufacturers.
“If politicians and if diplomats sit down with regular people and explain that to them, they will understand the whole complexity,” he said. “That is the intrinsic interest of those proud Americans who would like to see their country great (and) that the enemies of this country do not win. Otherwise, you will look like losers. Nobody wants to be a loser, right?”
In April, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann and Ron Estes, all Kansas Republicans, voted against a $60 billion Ukraine aid package.
Republicans U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner as well as Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas voted for the measure that easily passed the House and Senate.
“Can you win any war without weapons?” Kyslytsya said. “Helping Ukraine fight the enemy is the most economically and most politically wise choice to do, because the price you pay is material. It’s not lives of your soldiers.”
Kyslytsya said skeptics of sustaining U.S. military involvement in Ukraine should be reminded of a speech by aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1941. On behalf of the America First Committee, Lindbergh championed U.S. isolationism while German dictator Adolph Hitler’s troops marched across Europe.
“There is a policy open to this nation that will lead to success — a policy that leaves us free to follow our own way of life, and to develop our own civilization,” Lindbergh said. “It is based upon the belief that the security of a nation lies in the strength and character of its own people. It demands faith in an independent American destiny. This is the policy of the America First Committee today. It is a policy not of isolation, but of independence; not of defeat, but of courage.”
Kyslytsya said Lindbergh incorrectly argued that no matter how much the United States supported European allies, Hitler would win the war.
“How many times have we heard no matter how much you help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose to Putin?” the ambassador said.
He said that if Ukraine fell, Moldova would be overtaken quickly by Russia. He said Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would be Russia’s next target, followed by Poland. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were occupied by the Soviet Union until 1991, but have since joined NATO along with Poland.
“If Russia prevails, Russia enforces alliances with your (U.S.) enemies. Like Iran, North Korea and other countries. The numbers are higher. The geography of the enemies is wider,” Kyslytsya said.
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