'It is despicable': Ex-GOP lawmaker calls Trump's latest move 'an act of desperation'

The Trump administration made the decision to cut off military aid to Ukraine because Volodymyr Zelensky wasn't meant to defeat the Russian army and humiliate Vladimir Putin, according to a new Substack by former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).

In fact, Kinzinger argued, Zelensky is in the process of doing the impossible -- defeating Russia -- and Donald Trump can't allow that to happen.

"As the war in Ukraine reaches its third year, it is undeniable that Ukraine is not just surviving but winning," Kinzinger wrote. "What was supposed to be a three-day war for Russia has instead turned into one of the greatest military failures of the modern era. The Russian military has suffered over 800,000 casualties—dead, wounded, and missing—gutting its combat effectiveness and forcing it into increasingly desperate tactics."

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Trump suspended the aid shortly after last week's disastrous sit-down with Zelensky in which he accused the Ukrainian president of not being "grateful" enough for his help. Trump ultimately kicked Zelensky out of the White House, saying he wasn't "ready" for peace.

Putin, however, is ready for the war to stop, Kinzinger argued, and Trump wants credit for making it happen.

"The Trump administration’s decision to cut off military aid is not based on strategy or principle. It is an act of desperation," Kinzinger wrote. "Trump and his circle are watching Ukraine systematically dismantle Russia’s war machine, and they are desperate for a cease fire at any cost… Trump wants his peace prize."

Kinzinger continued, "They know that an increasing Ukrainian capacity would leave Russia in ruins and Putin humiliated. So they are trying to do the only thing they can—force Ukraine onto a more 'level playing field' by starving it of the weapons and resources it needs to finish the job. This is not just cynical. It is a betrayal of everything the United States claims to stand for. It is despicable, un-American, and a stain on our country’s reputation. It’s politics over lives, and history will not be kind."

Read the full article here.