Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview with Newsmax on Wednesday night that while the U.S. has sent billions in taxpayer dollars to Kyiv in its war against Russia, the cost could be even greater if Vladimir Putin prevails.
The U.S. has sent more than $100 billion to Ukraine in military, financial, and humanitarian aid since Russia invaded in February 2022. Some lawmakers are beginning to ask if the U.S. is putting Ukraine ahead of its own needs.
"I would like to express words of gratitude for the support to Ukraine," Zelenskyy said through an interpreter in an interview with Greta Van Susteren. "I would like to extend words of gratitude to President [Joe] Biden to bipartisan support. This is very important. What I believe is that you've made very significant investment in the protection of the democracy, and I've already mentioned that war is very expensive.
"It could be very expensive for the whole world. If Ukraine [falls], then Putin will go further. He will attack the country's member nations of NATO. And in that case, the United States together with other allies would have a [to] make a decision whether to send their own sons and daughters to this other war."
Zelenskyy, who was in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, said the highest price in war is losing people, but because Ukraine is holding its own against Russia.
"This is going to be very expensive because losing people, that's the highest price that any country may pay. And that's important to realize because Ukraine is standing, is holding its grounds. And I think that it's far cheaper, if I can use words like that. It's difficult to say because people are not money.
"But still, I think that it's cheaper for the United States and for the whole world rather than later sending their own children for the war for a possibility of being killed. We are protecting shared values. It's not just words, but we are truly defending freedom and democracy."
Zelenskyy said if Putin is successful against Ukraine, it could put other sovereign nations in jeopardy. Biden and other U.S. lawmakers from both parties believe that if Russia prevails, it would given China an excuse to invade Taiwan.
"If Russia would be allowed to do that by the other countries, that will send a signal to the aggressive [countries] — can be capturing territories, can be killing people, can be capturing territories, whatever they want," he said. "It might create challenges not only for Ukraine, but for other countries of the world. That might pose a challenge to many countries, including United States."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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