As this issue of The Ukrainian Weekly was being completed, we received an e-mail from the Ukrainian National Information Service, the Washington bureau of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, with the responses of the two major party candidates’ campaigns to questions on key topics – military assistance to Ukraine, Russian sanctions, combatting Russian disinformation, NATO enlargement and Ukraine reform efforts. Given the tight timeframe (and, unfortunately, the poor postal delivery of our newspaper), as well as the fact that voting is already taking place, it was important for us to get this information to our readers. So, here goes.
In keeping with their tradition during presidential election years, the UCCA and UNIS sent a questionnaire to both the Republican and the Democratic candidates for president. The five questions were these: Would you propose increasing U.S. military assistance and training for Ukraine’s armed forces? What level of sanction measures would you support against the Russian Federation? What additional measures should the United States implement to combat Russian disinformation? While Ukraine was recently granted an Enhanced Opportunity Partnership with NATO, what other measures would you propose to assist in Ukraine’s path to NATO membership? What type of program would you propose for U.S. involvement in training, equipping and implementing key reform and anti-corruption programs in Ukraine?
The questionnaire was sent at the end of September, but it took until October 21 for both campaigns to respond. The responses came from the Biden-Harris campaign and Ukrainians for Trump 2020. Neither provided direct answers to the questions posed; the Trump response also included information unrelated to the topics broached.
The Biden campaign presented its “Vision for America’s Relationship with Ukraine” in two parts: “What Joe Biden Has Done” (highlighting his role as “the point person for Ukraine” under the Obama administration) and “What Joe Biden Will Do.” Here is an excerpt from the latter: “Joe Biden will”: “…push to end the conflict in Ukraine, working with our European allies, to support the Ukrainian people as they pursue the sovereign, democratic and prosperous future that their country deserves; …provide military assistance to Ukraine, including lethal military equipment, to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia; …engage Ukraine’s government, business, and civic leaders to dismantle corruption and consolidate a society that enjoys the rule of law and ensures justice and economic opportunity for its citizens.”
Ukrainians for Trump had this to say on the topic of Ukraine: “President Trump has reinforced strong sanctions against Russia to confront its abusive and destabilizing actions. The Trump Administration sanctioned over 200 targets in response to Russia’s ongoing occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine…; President Trump and the Administration released a National Security Strategy defining steps to stop any interference from Russia. …The Trump Administration has enhanced its support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine improve its ability to defend itself. Increased sales of weapons to Ukraine’s military includes over 360 Javelin missiles and nearly 50 launchers. …The Trump Administration has increased funding for the European Deterrence Initiative, providing billions to increase United States troop readiness in Europe, deter Russian aggression, and help defend our NATO allies. …At the U.N., President Trump is actively condemning Russia’s …continued failure to live up to its commitment to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.”
To read the full texts of these two position papers, we direct readers to the Facebook pages of UNIS and the UCCA.
It is important to point out that our publisher, the Ukrainian National Association, a 501(c)(8) corporation, does not endorse political candidates, but its publications can certainly encourage readers to make their voices heard and their votes count. We all know this is a pivotal and consequential presidential election, so get out there and vote!