Republicans launch campaign for continued Ukraine support

A Trump-critical Republican nonprofit launched a campaign Tuesday calling on GOP lawmakers to maintain support for Ukraine amid growing resistance to additional aid packages from key factions of the party. 

“Republicans for Ukraine,” launched Tuesday by the nonprofit Defending Democracy Together, is a $2 million campaign with first-person testimonials from GOP voters urging politicians and lawmakers to support Ukraine.

The ads will run on cable, network TV and YouTube through the end of the year. 

Defending Democracy Together describes itself as an “advocacy organization created by lifelong conservatives and Republicans.” The group has spoken out against former President Trump and in support of voting rights, and it’s led by Bill Kristol and Sarah Longwell.

The campaign plans to focus on the Republican debate in Wisconsin on Aug. 23 — running ads on 10 billboards in Milwaukee and on Fox News during the debate. 

“Too many of the party’s leaders seem to think there’s no penalty to be paid for standing against Ukrainian democracy and America’s role in supporting the fight for freedom,” Gunner Ramer, the national spokesperson for the campaign, said in a press release.

“We’re here to remind them that there are a lot of Republicans across the country who stand with Ukraine,” Ramer added.

The push comes amid growing concern over waning support for Ukraine in the Republican party — both in Congress and on the 2024 campaign trail.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) expressed his concern last month after 70 House Republicans voted for an amendment to a defense policy bill that would have prohibited future assistance to Ukraine. A separate amendment that proposed cutting $300 million of funding for Ukraine got the support of 89 House Republicans. 

The Biden administration unveiled Monday a $200 million security assistance package for Ukraine. The administration last Thursday also outlined a supplement funding request for Ukraine, which includes $24 billion in assistance for the country, but its fate remains unclear as many GOP members have indicated they would resist the effort.

As the 2024 presidential race heats up, Republican candidates have found themselves at odds with each other on the issue of Ukraine, with some candidates saying President Biden is not doing enough to aid Ukraine’s cause and others saying the war in Ukraine wouldn’t be “a top foreign policy priority for us.”