A conference in Washington, DC, on June 10 gathered participants from across the conservative political spectrum. The aim? To underline that Russia is an adversary of the US, and that supporting Ukraine in the war started by Moscow’s invasion is intrinsic to American security.
Held at the historic Decatur House, close to the White House, the conference was titled America’s Adversaries: The Russian Reality and brought together leading voices from government, national security, media, and the conservative movement.
Organized by Dr. Meaghan Mobbs, director of the Center for American Safety and Security at the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, the meeting aimed to dispel the perception, especially common in Europe, that the Republican Party had abandoned support for Ukraine in the war. Although President Donald Trump and his team have halted funds for Ukraine, and have issued barbed comments at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Trump said on June 17 that the war was not a US priority and that it had no role except to sell weapons). All the same, there is a wider story to tell about the Republican outlook.
As Mobbs said, “You do not have to choose between America First and moral clarity,” as she labeled Russia as an “insidious, devious, corrupt mafia state.”
Present were Republicans and other conservatives ranging from committed Trump and MAGA supporters to some who campaigned against him in the last presidential election in groups like “Republicans Against Trump”.
The strongest pro-Ukraine elements of the Republican party are not in the ascendant, but participants represented a broad range of party opinion. They included members of Congress and of Trump’s first and second administrations, representatives of religious and evangelical groups, former Trump administration members such as Stephen Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State, and General Keith Kellogg former Special Envoy to Ukraine, Daniel Hoffman who had been CIA Moscow station chief, members of rightwing and neo-con think tanks like the Hudson Institute, Nadia Schadlow, former Trump deputy national security adviser, military analyst Michel Kofman, John Herbst a senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, who had been US ambassador to Ukraine, conservative media TV host Katie Pavlich, and Stephen Moore, a conservative activist who has publicized Putin’s oppression of, particularly, evangelical Christians.
Polls show a mixed picture, but that most Americans of right and left are suspicious of, or outright hostile to, Russia. 51% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans saw Russia as an enemy, in a Pew poll this year. Some 83% of all voters have a negative view of Russia, and 84% say the same of Vladimir Putin.
That said, many Republicans have tended to support the administration’s stance of peace talks and an end to financial and military aid for Ukraine.
But it’s unclear what Republican policy will be once the current administration leaves office. That gives some hope to Republican leaders seeking a more hawkish policy toward the Kremlin and hoping that opinion will move their way. (While it may only be a straw in the wind, unofficial Trump advisor Laura Loomer stated on June 17 that she “fell for Russian propaganda”). Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes and its near-daily strikes deep inside Russia have also demonstrated strength, and corrode Putin’s strongman image.
Ukrainian heavyweight world boxing champion, Oleksandr Usyk, made an impassioned and eloquent speech in which he tore apart Putin’s claims to represent traditional Christian and family values. Usyk described how hundreds of Ukrainian Christians, in areas occupied by Moscow’s forces, have been tortured, intimidated, or murdered by Putin’s secret police. Himself a father of four, Usyk spoke about the agony of tens of thousands of Ukrainian families trying to discover the whereabouts of children kidnapped by the Russians, who try to “cleanse” them of their Ukrainian identity and have even brainwashed them into serving as soldiers in the Russian army. His words were underlined by Russia’s June 15 attack on Kyiv, which struck the capital’s ancient and most venerated Christian shrine, the Pechersk Lavra monastery complex.
In recent months, a growing number of Republicans, including some in Congress, have openly called for stouter American support for Ukraine. Congress agreed $400m in aid as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December, while the House and Senate are working on more.
Many conservatives regard Russia as part of an informal axis threatening the US that includes China, Iran, and North Korea. As one participant said, “You don’t have to love Ukraine. But if you love America, you have to support Ukraine in the war with Russia.”
Gen. Keith Kellogg, Dr. Mobbs’ father and former Special Envoy to Ukraine, said nations should be judged by their actions, not their rhetoric. He pointed out: “Russia has aligned herself with Iran, a regime that has long threatened American interests and allies. Russia has embraced North Korea, a dictatorship openly hostile to the United States. Russia has become increasingly dependent upon China, America’s principal strategic competitor.”
He said a serious America First strategy must recognize that Ukraine “has built one of the largest, most battle-tested, and most innovative military forces in Europe — in fact, the world” and is essential for Europe’s defense. Thus, he said, the US helping strengthen and maintain Ukraine’s military capability “can help create the conditions that allow America to devote more attention and power to the Indo-Pacific. That’s not charity. It’s a strategy.”
Many other participants talked about how the US could learn from the rapid pace of Ukraine’s military innovation that has allowed the country to compensate for Russia’s much larger forces and resources, and outperform on the battlefield. Ukraine has led the way in drone technology, first aerial drones, and subsequently sea and land-based unmanned battlefield platforms, which have transformed the nature of warfare.
Nate Vance, cousin of Vice President JD Vance and a US Marine veteran, spent years fighting as a volunteer on the Ukrainian side after Russia’s full-blown 2022 invasion.
He told the conference: “The US needs to learn from Ukraine’s pace of development.” Instead of development and testing cycles for brand new weapons that take many years before production begins, he said the US should copy Ukraine, where adjustments are made to existing weapons systems with production lines being tweaked in, sometimes,45 minutes, even before all the snags are ironed out.
Askold Krushelnycky is a freelance journalist who has written about Russia’s war on Ukraine for The Independent, The Sunday Times, The Times, Foreign Policy, and other publications. He is the author of An Orange Revolution.
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