Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican minority in the US Senate, has explained that it is in the interest of the United States to help Ukraine in Russia’s aggressive war against the background of a decrease in support for Kyiv from his party.

According to Voice of America, McConnell said during the Winning the War. Winning the Peace forum, organised by CEPA, if Russian President Vladimir Putin wins the war, the next target will be a NATO country, therefore, he believes, it is much wiser to stop this invasion, and the only ones who are ready to participate in this are the Ukrainians themselves.

"We are lined up here against China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. That ought tell you right from the beginning that you’re on the right side. Second, we are not losing any American military personnel. Ukrainians are doing the fighting themselves. […] In the context of our GDP it’s a really small fraction that we are providing for this effort," McConnell said. 

He noted that when the United States sends weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, they replace a lot of their assets with more modern, advanced equipment, adding that Washington would have to restore its industrial base even if there had not been a war in Ukraine, due to increased competition from the Russian Federation and China.

In his opinion, the reason why support among Republicans is falling is the opposition of former President Donald Trump. However, the good news, the politician noted, is that Congressional leadership and the leaders of the Armed Forces, Foreign Relations and Intelligence and Budget committees are in the camp that supports Ukrainians.

"I think the American people are being to some extent misled. I don’t think they understand the facts," McConnell said.

"There are some Americans who say ‘well this is a long way from the Far East and that’s where our real concerns are’. Well, the Prime Minister of Japan said if you want to send President Xi a message, beat Putin in Ukraine. South Koreans are concerned, Filipinos are concerned, Australians are concerned. So, it does have a huge impact on Asia and the future of Taiwan," the Senate Republican leader explained. 

Earlier, Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said that among the members of the House, there will be no votes to support the budget proposal of the Senate to avoid a shutdown, a temporary suspension of federal government operations, with the funding provided for Ukraine. 

McCarthy said the Senate proposal will not find votes in the House of Representatives, but they will consider the proposed Republican bill with additional funding for border protection.

The US State Department previously stated that Washington would be able to continue to provide military and security assistance to Kyiv even in the event of a temporary shutdown of the government.