Two governors who serve as co-chairs of the bipartisan, presidentially-appointed Council of Governors – meant to give advice and opinions to the United States President’s Office along with heads of executive branch agencies like the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Friday denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) said the United States must stand with Ukraine because the two countries share the same values.
“At the direction of President Vladimir Putin, Russian forces have invaded Ukraine in violation of international law. This is unacceptable, and all freedom-loving people should stand against this unprovoked invasion,” DeWine said in the release. “Ukraine has been a sovereign and independent state since the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. The United States and Ukraine share common values including freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people.”
Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) appeared to be more worried that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was somehow a threat to America’s national security.
“We stand with Ukraine and condemn Russia for these unprovoked and unlawful attacks,” he said in the release. “We stand ready to support the federal government in guiding our nation through this violent time, and I am committed to standing together with leaders at all levels of government, regardless of political party, to work towards peace. It’s time to unite, protect democracy, and work together to end this violence and hold Russia accountable.”
DeWine’s office did not immediately return a comment request.
Walz’s office could not be reached for comment.
Not everyone agrees with the governors’ sentiment regarding the urgency of protecting Ukraine from Russia.
One such high-profile opponent of intervention is Ohio U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance, who noted earlier this week that the battle between the two Eastern European nations is not America’s to fight.
He disagrees with the premise that Ukraine, which has been a sovereign nation since the end of the Soviet Union, is even a functioning democracy.
“Vladimir Putin is an evil man, who has done a number of evil things during his time in government. But spare me the performative affection for the Ukraine, a corrupt nation run by oligarchs, that is as close to a functional democracy in 2022 as Afghanistan was when Joe Biden handed it over to the Taliban in 2021,” Vance said in a press release. “Of course, we all pray for peace for the innocent Ukrainians caught up in this, but American foreign policy has been broken for too long.”
He said America has enough of its own problems to deal with.
“There is a real crisis in our towns and cities. Fentanyl brought across the Mexican border kills dozens of our people every week in Ohio. Sex traffickers sell slaves into our communities,” he said. ‘While Biden and the RINOs send troops to Ukraine, the Mexican drug cartels continue to terrorize our state. Let’s declare them a terrorist organization and send our troops to the southern border instead. And as Republicans, let’s stop giving cover to the same group of experts who have blundered their way into two decades of foreign policy catastrophes.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mike DeWine” by Vivien McClain Photography CC BY-SA 4.0.
