A CONVERSATION WITH CHAIRMAN OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE RUSLAN STEFANCHUK - We are at a critical point in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Vital American assistance to Ukraine is stalled in the US House of Representatives, and there is growing uniformed talk both about a stalemate on the battlefield and the need to consider negotiations.

Russian forces remain entrenched along the front lines in hotly contested towns such as Avdiivka, which remain the scene of significant attritional battles. Although advances by its army have been limited, at sea Ukraine has broken the Black Sea blockade and successfully driven the Russian Black Sea fleet out of Sevastopol. The recent arrival of shorter-range ATACMS missiles has also led to Ukrainian success in striking Russian military bases, airfields and in slowly making Crimea untenable for the Russian army.

Even with calls for a ceasefire, there is a lack of any indication that Moscow is willing to enter into good faith negotiations. In his October Oval Office address, President Biden began to make the case that American support for Ukraine is squarely in American national interests. In that address, he presented his proposal for a support package that includes US aid to Ukraine, aid to Israel, and funding for the border.

What is the case for continued American support to Ukraine? How do Russia’s revisionist aims affect American security? Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is in Washington to make the case for continued substantial American assistance to ensure Putin fails in his war of aggression.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 12/06/23