California National Guard leader says military aid for Ukraine urgent
By guest contributors Joe Rubin and Gillian Brassil
The Sacramento Bee
Feb. 27, 2024
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – On the 24th of each month, Ukrainians from across the Sacramento region — and their supporters — gather at the Capitol to denounce Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
But this weekend’s protest had added significance. Saturday’s event marked the 2-year anniversary of the bitter invasion and protracted war that has displaced millions and killed, according to recent numbers from President Volodymyr Zelensky, 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
Many in Sacramento have been touched by the war; Sacramento has the largest per-capita population of Ukrainians in the U.S. For them and many others there was a palpable sense of urgency Saturday — and a call for Congress to act.
The crowd of about 1,000 stood in rapt attention during the playing of the U.S. national anthem, then listened intently as the head of the nation’s largest national guard spoke with a clear message: End the stalemate in Congress over U.S. military aid to Ukraine before it is too late.
Major General Matthew Beevers, who leads California’s National Guard, told the crowd, “Free People everywhere know exactly what’s at stake, that Putin intends to destroy the global rules-based order that has kept the peace in Europe since World War II.”
Beevers said that Congress should set aside “petty political grievances and childish posturing on Ukraine,” and pass $60 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine.
“Members of the House of Representatives,” he said, “know full well, that failing to pass that package guarantees countless more casualties and emboldens Putin’s imperialistic march on Eastern Europe.”
Caroleana Kvaterchuk Allison, Executive Director of the Sacramento-based Ukrainian American House, a Sacramento Area-based non-profit that supports Ukrainian refugees in the U.S., said she felt “stirred” during the speech.
“Major General Beevers,” she said, “has a deep understanding of the threat that Russia poses to democracy.”
California’s National Guard has a 30-year history of partnering with Ukraine to provide training and support. The Department of Defense Security Cooperation program established the program in 1993. The partnership took on added importance following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Ukrainian President Zelensky visited with members of California Air National Guard 144th Fighter Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View during a visit to California in 2021, five months before Russia’s invasion.
Lt. Col. Brandon Hill, who lived with his young family in Kyiv from 2018-2020 serving as the liaison officer between the Cal Guard and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said the deployment was a life-changing experience. Since the war, he said, “It’s been tough, losing professional counterparts that I’ve met and trained with.”
In an interview with The Bee following his speech, Beevers made clear that he was not telling Congress how to end the months-long quagmire over funding, just that it is important for the stalemate to end.
“They’re smart people in the house,” Beevers said. “They know that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, he will invade somewhere else. That will trigger Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, and we will be in a full-blown land war in Europe."
“That is fundamentally the trade-off. We either pay for it and fund Ukraine, and enable them to fight and win, or we’ll wind up having to fight someplace in Europe.”
Even if all House Democrats support the $95 billion foreign aid package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, they’ll need Republicans to pass it. So far, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has signaled the bill won’t receive a vote because it lacks border security provisions.
Republicans have a razor-thin majority in the House. Once Tom Suozzi, the Democrat who won the special election to replace Republican George Santos, is sworn in on Wednesday, the partisan split will be 219 to 213.
The package, which includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies, passed the Senate with wide bipartisan support this month.
There’s more dissent in the House. Many Republicans — especially ardent supporters of former President Donald Trump, who has urged GOP members to thwart the package — are against sending more aid to Ukraine. And some House progressives are against the $14.1 billion the bill would commit to Israel.
The Bee reached out to California Congressional Republicans and the ones who responded seemed willing to support robust aid to Ukraine.
“Stopping Putin in Ukraine is key to keeping American troops out of another war in a destabilized Europe,” said Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford. “Most of the money Congress has approved has gone to replenishing weapons we’ve already sent to Ukraine, meaning we’re strengthening our domestic industry and replacing our old military equipment.
“I understand there’s frustration among folks who say we have a lot going on here to worry about, and I agree. We need to secure the border, lower the cost of living, and address a long list of issues Americans are facing here at home. We can and should put Americans’ needs first while also supporting our allies abroad.”
But even with the support of moderate Republicans such as Valadao, the package first needs to come to the House floor, which Johnson is so far unwilling to do.
One member of California’s delegation, Rep, Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, has been a persistent voice of criticism when it comes to the Biden administration’s objectives in Ukraine. In a report last fall about Ukraine funding, he said, “The current stalemate on the ground in Ukraine is undeniable. At the same time, President Biden expects indefinite and increased financial support from Congress for the war effort with no outlined strategy for eventual peace. This should be an alarm for all of us.”
Garcia told Roll Call in November that Johnson called the report “the hymn book for the Ukraine issue.” A spokesman for Garcia sent the report, which backs scaled-back funding for Ukraine and further congressional oversight on how the money is spent, in response to The Bee’s query on Sunday.
Garcia, a longtime supporter of Trump, serves on the appropriations subcommittee on defense.
Dmytro Kushneruk, Ukraine’s Consulate General in San Francisco, who also spoke Saturday, acknowledged that it was frustrating watching the political process in the U.S. play out while troops in Ukraine face dire shortages.
But, he said, it’s important to remember, “People are dying because of Russia. Russia is the only one who’s guilty.”
Kushneruk noted that military aid for Ukraine has had bipartisan support in the past.
“It’s only in the last few months,” the diplomat said, “that this question has been so politicized. If that bill would be put into vote in the House in D.C., it will be supported. We’re absolutely sure about that.
“So, now it’s an issue of whether the speaker will put it up for a vote. And that’s why he has to feel, every member of Congress must feel, that people in the United States and California need military support to pass..”
Lt Col. Hill who spent two years in Kyiv working alongside Ukraine’s military, said he is certain that the nation will prevail, as long as Ukraine receives adequate support.
“Seeing how they’ve handled themselves against this aggression, and with the atrocities that they’re facing, they have shown such resilience,” he said. “They are continuing to modify their tactics. I have no doubt they will eventually win. What that winning looks like, I don’t know. That’s not up to us. But I’m certain they will be successful.”
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