McCarthy criticizes Biden for insufficient response to the invasion of Ukraine, suggests how he might have deterred Putin

Representative House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. , join “Sunday morning futuresFrom Poland where he spoke with refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, referring to the country’s “atrocities” amid the Russian invasion and the “ultimate power of the Ukrainian people”.

In the exclusive interview, the GOP leader criticized President Biden To work “too slow” in Ukraine.

“If Biden had sent one weapon earlier, maybe [Russian President Vladimir] put it in “He wouldn’t have decided to enter Ukraine,” McCarthy said on Sunday. “If Biden had said he would be punished before they entered Ukraine, Putin might not have entered.”

“But now that the war has broken out and you have other countries ready to provide Ukraine with MiGs to defend itself in its air,” he added. “[Ukraine is] They don’t ask American men and women to fight, all they ask is to have weapons to defend themselves from an aggressor who will enter and kill women and children, and innocents, and there must be real consequences for Russia’s actions. “

Then he stressed that what the United States should do “is provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to win this war.”

The United States and NATO on Thursday pledged to increase support for Ukraine amid growing concerns that Russia is about to launch a major offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region, but officials remained silent about what kind of weapons they would send to Kyiv.

As an organization, NATO refuses to send troops or weapons to Ukraine or impose a no-fly zone on it to prevent the transatlantic group from being drawn into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia. Nevertheless, individual NATO countries provided Ukraine with some weapons, as well as medical equipment and supplies.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declined to say which countries are ramping up supplies or what exactly they might be sending to Ukraine, but said: “Rest assured, Allies offer a wide range of different weapons systems, both Soviet-era systems but also modern equipment.”

Washington has provided more than $1.7 billion in aid since the invasion began in February and more than $2.4 billion since January 2021.

A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.

However, FM Anthony Blinken He said last week that “disgusting images and accounts from Bucha and other parts of Ukraine” have strengthened the West’s determination to punish Russia and increase support for Ukraine.

Blinken said the US is “looking across the board right now not just at what we’ve provided and what we continue to deliver, but whether there are additional systems that can make a difference.”

McCarthy stressed on Sunday that Ukraine needs arms “in advance and that’s a lesson we must learn in the long run.”

Russia and Ukraine: live updates

Remember before the penaltiesthe chief said The mere threat of sanctions will stop Putin and then once Putin enters Ukraine, Then the chief says “The sanctions will take a long time to bear fruit,” he told Barthyromou.

President Biden He indicated late last month that sanctions are not intended to deter Putin’s actions, now telling reporters that “sanctions never deter.”

“Sir, deterrence hasn’t worked. What makes you think Vladimir Putin will change course based on the action I took today,” CBS reporter Christina Ruffini asked Biden during a press conference at the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Biden replied, “Let’s understand something. You remember that if you covered me from the start, I didn’t say that sanctions would actually deter him. Sanctions never deter him. You keep talking about it. Sanctions never deter.”

Biden’s comments came after weeks of messages from top Biden administration officials – including the vice president Kamala Harris And the Minister of Foreign Affairs Anthony Blinken – Who claimed that sanctions against Russia are aimed at deterring Putin’s actions.

McCarthy stressed, Sunday, that “the first thing that succeeds is a country that is able to defend itself.” Then he said the United States should “look to the future” and learn how America could “make sure we don’t make that mistake again.”

McCarthy also argued that the Biden administration “should provide Taiwan with weapons to defend itself so that China does not understand the idea of ​​entering. Taiwan. “

“This is the lesson to be learned,” McCarthy, who is leading a congressional delegation to Eastern Europe, stressed.

NATO expects ‘major attack’ from Putin in eastern Ukraine, alliance prepares for ‘prolonged’ war

He continued, “Anyone can see the refugees who are here, the millions of refugees from old to young, who are sleeping on the ground with Poland opening their homes and others, they don’t want to leave Ukraine. They want to defend Ukraine.” , speaking from Warsaw.

“They did nothing wrong. And now Putin is killing innocent women and children in atrocities we haven’t seen in decades, since World War II.”

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He stressed that “there must be real consequences for the actions taken by Russia in this situation, and the world must unite around this.”

EU member states such as Poland and Romania, Ukraine’s two neighbors, have received the largest number of refugees. Of the more than 4 million refugees who have fled Ukraine, more than 2.4 million have crossed into Poland. While many have traveled all over Europe, many refugees have resided in Poland, which offers free temporary accommodation, medical care, education and some social benefits.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall, Kyle Morris and The Associated Press contributed to this report.