February 2, 2024
The Honorable
Warren Davidson
Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Davidson:
Thank you for your May 18, 2023 letter to Secretary Blinken concerning the
Biden-Harris Administration’s objective in supporting Ukraine’s efforts to
defeat Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We sincerely
regret the delay in responding. Our goal is for Ukraine to emerge from this
war as a democratic, independent, sovereign, and prosperous nation that
can deter and defend itself against future aggression. When Ukraine
achieves this objective, it will have won the war. Moreover, we want to
integrate Ukraine into the community of democratic nations and have
Ukraine contribute to transatlantic security going forward.
Russia’s victory in a war of imperial conquest would further embolden Russia
militarily. An emboldened, aggressive Russia would continue to destabilize
Europe and pose a greater threat to NATO and the United States. America’s
other adversaries and competitors would take note as they calculate the
costs and consequences of future acts of aggression. Ukraine’s victory is
possible and necessary for the security of Europe, the United States, and the
global rules-based order.
We will attain these goals by facilitating Ukraine’s indigenous efforts to
increase their military capacity, continuing to marshal support from an
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unprecedented global coalition of Allies and partners led by the United
States, and continuing U.S. support, including via the supplemental request.
First, the United States is leading a coalition of countries to support
Ukraine—from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. This includes strengthening
Ukraine’s fighting capacity. By providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry,
munitions, training, and assistance, we are offsetting Russia’s core advantage
– its superior latent strength. In addition, Ukraine’s ability to prosecute this
war hinges on its economic viability. To that end, we have provided
economic assistance that has proven to be a critical a lifeline preventing the
economic collapse Russia is seeking to bring about.
Second, we are imposing severe costs on Russia, through sanctions, export
controls, and broader diplomatic pressure. Those actions are degrading
Moscow’s ability to wage war and inhibiting its efforts to reconstitute its
military.
Third, we are ramping up our own defense industrial base, a process that
will assist Ukraine while also strengthening our broader national security.
We will be better positioned to address future threats while creating jobs at
home.
Fourth, by standing firm with Ukraine, we are sending a message to other
adversaries around the world that attempts to take territory by force will
not succeed.
Ukraine has made tremendous progress with our help so far, but we are
clear-eyed that major challenges remain. Putin’s appetite for further
conquest remains undiminished and our assessment is that Russia will
continue to fight to destroy Ukraine for the foreseeable future. We need to
send Putin a clear signal that he is wrong. He cannot simply wait us out. We
will not quit on our friends and nor tire of protecting our interests.
While we support Ukraine, we are not a party to this conflict. We are not
putting American troops in harm’s way, nor are our European allies.
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Instead, we are strengthening Ukraine’s capacity, and weakening a key
adversary, at costs far less than if the United States had direct involvement
in the war. As President Biden put it, “when dictators don’t pay a price for
their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and destruction. They
keep going, and the cost and the threats to America and to the world keep
rising.”
We hope this information is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if
we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Naz Durakoğlu
Assistant Secretary
Bureau of Legislative Affairs