Mike Waltz as U.S. National Security Advisor: his position on supporting Ukraine

The new U.S. National Security Advisor (currently Jake Sullivan’s position) will be Mike Waltz, a congressman from Florida and a veteran of special operations forces. Here’s his stance on supporting Ukraine:

Voice of America reports that in Congress, Mike Waltz initially supported aid bills for Ukraine, spoke about the need for victory, and visited Kyiv as part of congressional delegations. However, in April 2024, he voted against additional funding of $60 billion. In his criticism, he was direct:

“The era of blank checks for Ukraine from Congress is over. Europe needs to do more for Ukraine; the U.S. must protect its southern border,” Waltz wrote.

Among other reasons for voting against funding for Ukraine, Waltz cited the lack of strategy in the Biden administration. He criticized the White House for slow and untimely support of Ukraine and for insufficient sanctions against Russia’s energy sector.

“If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he won’t stop until he involves NATO countries… Stopping Russia before it drags NATO and the U.S. into war is the right thing to do,” Waltz wrote. But he added:

“But this burden cannot fall solely on the shoulders of the American people, especially when Western Europe is falling short. There should be political space between Biden’s ‘as long as it takes’ strategy and those who demand ‘not a dollar for Ukraine.’”

Overall, the idea that Europe (particularly Germany and France) is doing too little to support Ukraine, and that the U.S. should demand more from these countries, is a recurring theme in nearly all of Waltz’s comments on Ukraine.

On the other hand, Mike Waltz has spoken out against Ukraine joining NATO. In one interview, he stated that this would drag the U.S. into war with Russia and that Ukraine is currently unable to contribute to the collective security of the alliance.

In other comments, Mike Waltz also raised concerns about how the weapons provided to Ukraine are monitored and whether they end up on the black market after crossing the border.

However, in May 2022, Mike Waltz criticized Joe Biden for being unwilling to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles that could reach Russian territory.

That’s the news. Now we await who will head the State Department and the Pentagon. Florida Senator Marco Rubio may become the new Secretary of State, though there’s no official confirmation yet. This week promises a lot of news.