Is the US doing enough to help Ukraine? 'No,' Utah senator says

SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. John Curtis said the United States is not doing enough to help Ukraine defend itself as Russia has recently ramped up attacks.

The Republican also reiterated his criticism of President Donald Trump's decision to import Russian diesel fuel, saying it would only bolster Russia's war effort.

Asked if the U.S. is doing enough for Ukraine, Curtis said bluntly: "No."

"This latest diesel deal would just infuse cash into Russia, who we know is just going to use that money to recruit people to go to the front lines (and) prolong this war," the senator told reporters after speaking at an event Monday at the University of Utah.

Trump's diesel deal with Russia has attracted bipartisan criticism, according to the Associated Press. The president on Friday also decided to pause implementation of new sanctions on Russia passed by Congress last month, saying he didn't want to drive "Russia away from the bargaining table."

That's a rationale Curtis takes issue with.

"I disagree with this idea of keeping Russia at the table, because I think what brings Russia to the table is actually the fact that they're running out of resources," Curtis said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that he thinks "steps have been taken to convince Ukraine to capitulate."

"If the United States will officially take the side of Russia, of course these two countries will be together, of course we will not prevail and we will not be able to stand," he told NBC's "Meet the Press." "If (the) United States will support Putin, I mean, it's unbelievable. It's a tragedy. It's a historic mistake and a big tragedy."

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly criticized Ukraine. He has blamed the country for high fuel prices in America and called for Zelenskyy to be replaced.

On Monday, Trump told reporters: "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine; they haven't been doing much."

"We've given a lot to Ukraine; they've given us nothing," the president added.

Through March of this year, the U.S. has spent $195 billion on the war in Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Congress approved the most recent aid legislation in April 2024.

'Good versus evil'

Curtis visited the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv just last month. He said Ukraine "is winning this war," but warned that the nation faces a tough road ahead in the winter months.

"Going into the winter — they generally don't win the winters," Curtis said, "and one of the things that's preventing them from just closing this out is the money that's flowing into Russia for the fuel."

As the war rages, Russia — which has struggled to gain ground on the front lines — has recently ramped up attacks on Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv, terrorizing civilians. It has also struck Ukrainian energy sites, dealing blows to the country's power grid as Ukrainians are gearing up for the winter.

Curtis told reporters that there are many reasons to care about the outcome of the war between Ukraine and Russia, but ultimately, it's about "good versus evil."

"This is a country who oppresses its own people, who invaded a free Ukraine," he said, "and we should care about that."

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Curtis' predecessor, former Sen. Mitt Romney, weighed in on the war over the weekend.

"'We will pay any price ... to assure the success and survival of liberty,'" Romney wrote on X, loosely quoting President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address. "Is this still true? Do we prize liberty or do we prize power and purse? No more clear test than the choice between Ukraine and Russia. Abandon Ukraine and we abandon liberty. Eventually, even our own."

But Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, has expressed starkly different thoughts about Ukraine. He has opposed additional funding for Ukraine's war effort.

Last week, while sharing a post critical of Zelenskyy, Lee wrote: "Congress created a monster in Ukraine."

"Zelenskyy is working overtime," Lee wrote in another post earlier this month, "to help Democrats in November."

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