Event Recap
The United States’ efforts to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion have in many ways been driven by support in the US Congress. Military support for Ukraine has become a bipartisan issue on Capitol Hill, with over $14 billion appropriated since February 24 to better fund Ukraine’s defense.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and the American response to it has also revealed the imperative for the US once again to become an “arsenal of democracy.” On April 6, 2022, the US Senate unanimously passed the “Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act,” reviving President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s World War II-era lend-lease policy that allows Washington to more quickly send weaponry and supplies, this time to Ukraine’s democratically elected government. Russia’s renewed offensive in the Donbas region has made Ukraine’s calls for weapons systems, ammunition, and military assistance all the more urgent.
What is lend-lease and how can the US use military aid to more effectively enable Ukraine to defend itself against Russian aggression? How can Washington build on support for Ukraine to strengthen US national security?
Ambassador Paula Dobriansky, vice chair of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, offered introductory remarks. Thomas Warrick, nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, moderated a discussion with The Honorable John Cornyn, US senator (R-TX), and The Honorable Ben Cardin, US senator (D-MD), on lend-lease for Ukraine and the future of US assistance, with closing remarks from Barry Pavel, senior vice president at the Atlantic Council and director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
An #ACFrontPage event
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A conversation with
The Honorable Ben Cardin
US Senator (D-MD)
The Honorable John Cornyn
US Senator (R-TX)
Moderated by
With introductory remarks by
issue spotlight
Europe in crisis
War in Ukraine
In February 2022, Moscow launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine after a months-long military build-up, threatening the country’s sovereignty and its future. This existential moment for the country follows the 2014 Maidan revolution, a nexus for Ukraine’s Europe-focused foreign policy and reform efforts. The ensuing Russian invasion and occupation of Crimea, aggression in Ukraine’s east, and Kremlin disinformation efforts, cast a shadow over Ukraine’s independence.
The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.
The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.