Ukraine Officials Plead with US for Military Aid: Ousted Pro-Russian President Gutted Military

Photo Credit: Fox News Ukrainian officials pleaded with visiting U.S. lawmakers this past weekend to provide military aid, claiming their ousted president intentionally gutted the nation’s defenses so it would be vulnerable to a Russian takeover, one of those U.S. lawmakers told Fox News.

“They wanted arms,” the lawmaker said, “even recognizing that it could be cited by Putin as an excuse, a provocation for further military action by him. They said Putin’s goal has never been Crimea; his goal is Kiev.”

Even before Viktor Yanukovych’s tenure as president, Ukraine’s military was woefully underfunded and outdated. The nation’s defense force is composed of obsolete tanks and fighter planes, and thousands of low-paid soldiers.

But the lawmaker who spoke with Fox News claimed Yanukovych had made it a point, over the course of his administration, to “hollow out” the Ukrainian military further.

The goal, the source said, was to weaken the Ukrainian national defenses in the event Russia eventually moved to reclaim the country.

Read more from this story HERE.