Of the active lawmakers in Congress today, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., likely has the most compelling perspective on the Russia-Ukraine war — since she is a native of Nosivka, Ukraine, which was part of the old Soviet Union when she was a child.
"There's a lot of young people dying [in my home area], and it's tough for me to see, since they're fighting for all of us," Spartz told Newsmax in an interview Tuesday evening on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
As the war between the neighboring nations reaches the six-month mark, Spartz has been troubled by reports of the Russians operating "filtration" camps in Ukraine that involve the "unlawful transfer and deportation of protected persons" and that captured Ukrainian soldiers are being "forcibly removed or coerced into leaving their country," according to the State Department.
In Spartz's view, the filtration camps don't incorporate any level of human decency.
The Russians ''are using prisoners of war to cover up all the torture" that's been going on for six months, said Spartz, who was elected to Congress in 2016. "They're inhumane to the people, inhumane to women, children ... it's a World War I type of war."
It's fair to wonder if the Russia-Ukraine military conflict will feature the same level of carnage six months from now. As such, Spartz understands U.S. citizens' concerns that the Biden administration might be sending too much money or too much aid to Ukraine — without really knowing the precise location of the resources sent.
"The problem is, we had a big failing with Afghanistan" that was "embarrassing," said Spartz, a reference to the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Afghanistan last August, which was quickly followed by a permanent Taliban takeover of that country.
Spartz added, that "the difference [between Ukraine and Afghanistan] is: The Ukrainians aren't going to lay down arms ... if we don't efficiently manage the process, a lot of [soldiers] are going to be dying in big numbers."
To date, the Democratic-controlled U.S. government has earmarked $10.6 billion worth of aid (financial, military, sustenance) to Ukraine since the end of February.
Congress needs to make sure the lethal and financial aid "goes to the right places," said Spartz, who is up for reelection in November. "The Ukrainians are willing to die for freedom."
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