‘Guys, wake up’: European MPs urge US lawmakers to support Ukraine in war against Russia

On February 8, high-ranking legislators from Northern European and Baltic countries expressed concern in Washington over what they called a lack of urgency and clear strategy from the United States regarding assistance to Ukraine

Reuters reported the information.

Legislators stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin plans to seize more European territories if he succeeds in Ukraine, increasing the risk of a NATO conflict that would result in significant human and economic losses.

"Guys, wake up," Zygimantis Pavilionis, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said in comments directed at Democrats and Republicans. "Are you ready to defeat enemy No. 1 that is acting like the Hitler of today?"

The heads of parliamentary committees on foreign affairs from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway concluded a two-day visit aimed at accelerating new assistance from the United States.

The delegation members stated that they met with administration officials and lawmakers, but primarily sought to engage with Republicans who are resistant to the new aid. According to them, only one skeptical Republican member of the House of Representatives agreed to meet with them.

There "wasn't a sense of urgency," said Latvian parliamentarian Rihards Kols, adding it was "bizarre" that some American lawmakers urged the Europeans to engage more with U.S. citizens to explain the stakes of a Russian victory.

Several delegation members criticized President Joe Biden for opposing Ukraine's admission to NATO and his strategy of "doing what it takes" to aid Kyiv.

Delegation members said they repeatedly heard Europe was not doing enough to help Ukraine. Kols called this a false assertion that "has really played into Putin's cards" with narratives of war fatigue.

"All of our countries around this table have (given) more than 1% of GDP of military aid to Ukraine. The U.S. stands (at) around 0.3%," said Mihkelson.

According to Kols, Russia has massively boosted its military budget, its defense industries are operating around the clock and Moscow is importing Western technologies despite international sanctions. "We should not underestimate their will to outlast us," he continued. "They don't care about human lives. They don't care about the cost. We should wake up."

• On January 31, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other members of the congressional leadership to discuss support for Ukraine.
• On February 1, it was reported that U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson believes the U.S. national security program, which includes assistance to Ukraine, may face division over border policy reform.
• On February 3, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said that next week there would be a vote on a separate $17.6 billion aid package for Israel without aid to Ukraine.
• On February 4, at the third annual Ukraine Week summit held in Washington, D.C., a delegation of the Baltic states called on the U.S. Congress to provide funding for Ukraine.
• On February 5, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced its plans to veto the bill to provide aid to Israel, as the White House considers it incomplete.
• During his address to Congress, U.S. President Joe Biden called Trump the main problem in providing assistance to Ukraine.
• On February 6, House Republicans did not support Speaker Mike Johnson's bill to provide military aid to Israel without aid to Ukraine.
• Earlier, the U.S. Senate did not vote for the bill, which includes funds for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and strengthening border security with Mexico. Biden reacted.
• On February 8, the upper house of the U.S. Congress, the Senate, adopted a procedural decision to consider a bill to provide additional aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan without the border issue.