House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) emphasized on Thursday that the ongoing impeachment effort against President Donald Trump is about Russia, not Ukraine.
The impeachment hearings have centered around Ukraine and Trump’s interactions with the leader of Ukraine, but Pelosi asserted that everything ties back to Russia.
“This isn’t about Ukraine,” Pelosi said. “It’s about Russia.”
She continued, “Who benefited by our withholding — withholding of that military assistance? Russia. It’s about Russia. Russia invading eastern Ukraine. Over 10,000 people, now maybe 13,000, some of them in the absence of our conveying that military assistance that was voted in a bipartisan way by the Congress of the United States.”
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However, the aid was ultimately given and the government was permitted to buy U.S. Javelin missiles to defend themselves from Russia, unlike the Obama administration which did not provide Ukraine with any lethal military assistance.
She continued, “So sometimes people say, ‘Well, I don’t know about Ukraine. I don’t know that much about Ukraine.’ Well, our adversary in this is Russia. All roads lead to Putin. Understand that.”
Pelosi’s comments were criticized by conservatives as being a form of rhetoric used to enrage public opinion. Democratic supporters agreed with her standpoint and believe that U.S. support for Ukraine’s young democracy is imperative.
