Gerlach discusses U.S. assistance to Ukraine

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) said on Saturday that the United States should be open to supporting Ukrainian military action against Russia – but the congressman said he would not support sending troops there.

Gerlach, the co-chairman of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, delivered his comments after traveling to Kiev, Ukraine, as part of a congressional delegation last week.

“We certainly owe (Ukraine) our friendship and all of our support,” Gerlach said. “The question is how far that goes.”

Gerlach said the United States should provide economic and diplomatic assistance to Ukraine, as well as support and assistance related to defensive military systems.

“As the situation continues to worsen, if the Ukrainian government asks for our support with non-lethal or even lethal military assistance by way of anti-aircraft or anti-tank resources, we should consider supporting them in that regard,” Gerlach said.

Still, Gerlach said U.S. support should stop short of deploying troops there.

“I’m not sure we owe (Ukraine) any boots on the ground” Gerlach said. “In fact, I don’t think we do.”

Gerlach joined a three-day, bipartisan congressional delegation to Ukraine last week that was led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.).

“Our bipartisan delegation came to crisis-stricken Ukraine to assess first-hand the facts as they exist here on the ground,” Royce said. “During three days of talks with a broad range of Ukrainians – senior government officials, representatives of civil society, Jewish and other minority groups and others in Kiev and eastern Ukraine, including the Russian-speaking community – the consistent message I heard is that they are strongly committed to creating a democratic, united, and tolerant Ukraine and proudly anticipating the upcoming Ukrainian elections….”

The delegation also examined Ukrainian efforts to diversify its energy supply and efforts to counter Russian propaganda in eastern Ukraine with international broadcasting.