Iowa Senator Joni Ernst admitted he felt “helpless” after the Ukrainian president’s speech to Congress and urged the Biden administration to send Kiev all the equipment it needs to set up its own no-fly zone against Russia’s much larger air force.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Ukrainian President Zelensky’s address to Congress on Wednesday moved her so much that she wanted to “put on” a military uniform to “go to the rescue.”
The first female veteran elected to the Senate held back tears as the Kyiv leader passionately urged United States lawmakers to provide additional military assistance and a no-fly zone to help his people resist a devastating and brutal Russian invasion. President Vladimir Putin.
Hours later, President Joe Biden denounced Putin as a “war criminal”, his strongest denunciation of an autocrat.
After one journalist commented on her emotional state, the Iowa Republican responded, “My God, how could you not be?”
“It hurts me to see something like, you know, thinking about whether it was my child, whether it was my family, whether it was my people. You know, I would do the same thing as President Zelensky,” said Ernst.
“I would appeal to all possible nations to do everything possible to defeat the Russians and drive them to hell out of my country. You know, it makes me want to put on my uniform and go help.
Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel who served 12 months in Iraq and Kuwait as a company commander, admitted he felt “helpless” and urged the Biden administration to increase aid to Ukraine.
“I know we are helping in any way we can, but I think a lot of us feel helpless. We can do much more, and I think we should do it,” said Ernst.
She urged Biden to tell Zelensky that “we’re sending whatever planes you need.”
Biden announced Wednesday afternoon an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine today, which comes from a mammoth $1.5 trillion spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law on Tuesday.
The package includes $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine.
“This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we ask the whole world for a response to this terror. Isn’t it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Zelenskiy addressed U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday morning, adding that they should at least send planes for Ukrainians to better guard their own skies.
But the subject of the conflict between federal legislators and the White House is the sending of MiG-29 fighters to the Kyiv Air Force.
Representatives of the United States and other NATO countries have repeatedly stated that a no-fly zone over Ukraine is not discussed, citing the possibility of a direct conflict with Russia. While that didn’t deter Zelensky from trying, he also asked Western leaders to at least step up their air defense support and send planes so Ukraine can defend its skies on its own from Russia’s larger air force.
Poland offered to transfer the MiG-29 fighters to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany and then let US forces fly them to Ukraine.
The Pentagon, seemingly caught off guard when Poland announced the plan, promptly rejected it.
Biden has since witnessed a flurry of pressure from the Republican Party to reverse the decision.
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired almost 1,000 rockets into Ukraine, countless bombs, they use drones to kill us for sure,” Zelensky told Congress.
“This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we ask the whole world for a response to this terror. Isn’t it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people?
He added that if this were the case, then the US would have to send its planes for the Ukrainians to a person.
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired almost 1,000 rockets into Ukraine, countless bombs, they are using drones to kill us for sure,” Zelensky said (pictured: a volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces helps a woman cross the street in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 16)
Damaged cars and buildings in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 16. Ukrainian officials say Moscow troops have already killed thousands of civilians.
“You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aviation, powerful strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land, aviation, which can help Ukraine, help Europe. You know that they exist, and you have them, but they are on Earth, not in the Ukrainian sky,” he said.
Ernst said that Zelensky’s emotional appeal made her “even more steadfast” in her belief that the MiGs should be obtained.
“What they don’t get at the Pentagon, and what I think we all see here, is send a signal to Putin – sorry, I don’t care if it takes you time to complete this process.” transmissions or something else. Send a signal to Putin,” Ernst said.
She criticized the Pentagon for failing to send a clear message to Putin and criticized its fears of an “escalation” of the situation.
“Sorry, how can this be more of an escalation than what [Putin] is doing with Ukraine right now. So deal with it. We must do more to help the Ukrainian people,” Ernst said.
Like most lawmakers, the Iowa senator explicitly ruled out Zelenskiy’s request for a no-fly zone.
“We can’t because we can’t interact directly with Russia. This is a completely “different level that creates a much larger conflict,” she explained.
Ernst (center, during a training session at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin) is the first female veteran to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
“But what can we do, the alternative that Zelensky put forward was: “Help us establish our own no-fly zone.” I’ve been saying this for weeks now. Give him everything you can to keep his sky safe.
He also confronted President Joe Biden and told him to become “the leader of the free world”, demanded more sanctions on Russia to stop the “war machine”, asked for fighter jets, and shared devastating footage of maiming civilians in Kyiv, as he called lawmakers to “do more ‘ to protect their country.
“I’m talking to President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, your great nation. I wish you become a world leader. To be a world leader is to be a peaceful leader,” he said in a sobering address to Congress.
During his speech, he received several standing ovations from legislators.
Zelenskiy also called for a new alliance outside of NATO to prevent future attacks and protect Vladimir Putin from bullying, and urged the civil rights leader of the MLK to say, “I have a dream… I have a need.” I need to protect our sky. I need your decision… just like you feel when you say “I have a dream.”
In his speech, he included a visual video showing the death and destruction that Ukraine has experienced. The images included the death of young children and mass graves of civilian and military casualties. Several legislators were in tears when he played.