Congressman from North Texas: the war in Ukraine is changing quickly and unpredictably

McKinney, Texas. North Texas Congressman Keith Self describes his recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as grim because he and his country still need more equipment to keep fighting Russia.

He joined us from Poland to discuss the trip and how he views the war in Ukraine.

The Plano Republican says it’s difficult to predict how the situation will develop over the next few weeks due to the speed of recent events at the highest levels of many governments.

“This is happening quickly at a strategic, geopolitical level. Take Biden’s visit, Putin’s speech the next day, Xi Jinping’s notice of his visit. At this level, it’s incredibly fast,” the congressman said. Inside Texas Politics. “So, I think everyone understands that right now this is a proxy war between the West, led by the US against China.”

Self was in Ukraine as part of a Republican congressional delegation that included Texans Jake Ellzey and Michael McCall, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Republican says they also discussed a bill recently introduced by Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz called the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution.

This legislation calls for the US to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, and is supported by 10 other Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Self told us that the GOP group visiting Ukraine believes that Gaetz represents a weak voice not only in their party, but throughout Congress.

“We think this is a very small number because we see a bipartisan commitment to ensure that this war does not turn into a major European war involving America. That’s why we need to stop this with Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

And one of the priorities, he said, should be to reduce the war.

To this end, US lawmakers discussed the issue of providing longer-range firearms that would allow them to cover the occupied territories and Crimea. But Self emphasized not necessarily Russia itself.

Their trip lasted only 24 hours or so after President Biden walked the streets of Kyiv in broad daylight.

And Self told us that their visit sends a signal to Russia.

“The Americans are there. And they will be there,” said the Republican.