The youngest member of the Ukrainian Parliament spoke out about President Joe Biden’s response to recent Russian threats, criticizing him for withdrawing troops from western Ukraine “right away,” instead of standing firm against Russia.
Ukraine is “grateful” for the weapons, support and finances America provides, but if Biden wanted to stop Russia from invading, U.S. troops would not have left western Ukraine, 26-year-old Sviatoslav Yurash, a member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People Party, told the Daily Caller in an exclusive interview.
It would be a “game changer if the American division came here from Germany and had a nice holiday in some of these lovely hotels in Kyiv… It’s very clear that what happens in this regard is the opposite: America is withdrawing,” Yurash said.
SENKIVKA- UKRAINE: Members of the Ukrainian Border Guard patrol along the Ukrainian border fence at the Three Sisters border crossing between, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus on February 14, 2022 in Senkivka, Ukraine. Russian forces are conducting large-scale military exercises in Belarus, across Ukraine’s northern border, amid a tense diplomatic standoff between Russia and Ukraine’s Western allies. Ukraine has warned that it is virtually encircled, with Russian troops massed on its northern, eastern and southern borders. The United States and other NATO countries have issued urgent alerts about a potential Russian invasion, hoping to deter Vladimir Putin by exposing his plans, while trying to negotiate a diplomatic solution. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
“In the deep west of Ukraine, there is an area where the training sessions between Ukraine’s army and the instructors from Canada and the [United] States happen. And the fact that America has withdrawn its instructors from these bases is very odd as West Ukraine is not considered even in the wildest of estimations as the territory which will be involved in the fighting,” he continued. “We appreciate, of course, all the deep concerns, all the worries and all the support by other means, but still, the game changer is available and can be done very easily, but, unfortunately, it has been pushed off the table right away.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered all U.S. troops to leave Ukraine on Saturday. This included “the temporary repositioning of the 160 members of the Florida National Guard,” who were in the country “advising and mentoring Ukrainian forces,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. (RELATED: How Young Ukrainians Are Preparing For Possible Invasion)
Biden has repeatedly said that no U.S. troops would be deployed directly to Ukraine. He instead sent 3,000 additional troops to Poland on Feb. 11, while more than 130,000 Russian troops have amassed on Ukraine’s border. The U.S. embassy was ordered to relocate from Kyiv to Lviv, in western Ukraine.
“Sanctions don’t truly impact Russia as much as they could, because Russia, basically, like the ambassador to Sweden said, ‘would shit on any sanctions.’ So, whatever sanctions are imposed, it is not exactly a problem for Russia, which is going to pay any price for Ukraine,” Yurash continued.
Russia’s main “goal is very clear, as it has been stated by Putin time and time again: to unite Russia, Ukraine and Belarus,” he said, claiming that Russia will not stop until it destabilizes all of Ukraine. (RELATED: Ukraine Faces Mass Cyberattack On Financial, Defense Systems)
Yurash said Ukraine is important for U.S. foreign policy because Russia will continue to annex territories illegally, “to invade them, to occupy them, to destroy and to pretend that the international law exists, that sovereignty exists.”
If the U.S. keeps acting like Russia can do “whatever it wants,” that aggression might ultimately contribute to “conflicts in Asia,” he concluded.