Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), a average Republican, mentioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shouldn’t be compelled to simply accept any peace settlement with Russia that falls wanting his nation’s calls for.
“President Volodymyr Zelenskyy need not, and must not, have any deal forced upon him by any outside nation that does not guarantee the security and the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people,” Fitzpatrick wrote in a press release on social platform X.
“We all want an immediate end to this brutal Russian invasion and killing,” Fitzpatrick added. “For a peace settlement to be honest and lasting, it have to be completed in a manner that holds the Russian invaders accountable, protects the dignity of the Ukrainian victims, and gives for honest and equitable cost-sharing amongst all European nations.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) speaks to reporters outdoors the Home Chamber following the final votes of the week on Feb. 15, 2024. (Greg Nash)
“To do otherwise would be to encourage future invasions and to perpetuate future heartache and bloodshed,” he continued. “This is about Peace Through Strength. This is about Patriotic Common Sense. And Patriotic Common Sense is what America must always stand for.”
The assertion comes as President Trump has sharpened his assaults on Zelensky in latest days, sparking issues amongst lawmakers and international allies that Trump seems to be aligning extra carefully with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A testy back-and-forth has rapidly escalated after Ukraine was neglected of talks between U.S. and Russian officers in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, drawing a rebuke from Zelensky.
Trump responded Tuesday with unfounded allegations that Zelensky “started” the conflict; and the Ukrainian chief responded Wednesday that the U.S. president was dwelling in a “web of disinformation.”
Trump took to Reality Social hours later, calling Zelensky a “dictator without election” who was doing a “terrible job.”
Fitzpatrick pushed again on this declare, noting the Ukrainian folks elected Zelensky with greater than 73 p.c of the favored vote “in an election that was acknowledged as free and honest,” including, “Russia has never held such elections.”
He additionally reaffirmed congressional help for Zelensky, saying a majority of Congress stands with Zelensky and can “do whatever it takes” to see Putin held accountable.
“President Zelenskyy, and all negotiators, need to know this: There is an outcome-determinative number of Members of the United States Congress, from both parties and in both Chambers, who are ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to prevent Communist Dictator Vladimir Putin from being rewarded for his illegal invasion, raping, kidnapping, torturing and murdering of the Ukrainian people, including so many women and children,” Fitzpatrick wrote in his assertion.
“We will use every lever and every vote at our disposal, regardless of the personal or political consequences. This matter is that time-sensitive and it is that existential. It is legacy-defining,” he continued.
