At least some members of Congress are starting to ask questions about how deeply the US is involved militarily in Ukraine. The questions stem from both the leak of classified documents, in which there are indications that a small number of US military personnel are in Ukraine, and recent comments by administration officials to similar effect.
Florida’s Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) introduced a privileged resolution yesterday that, if passed, would force President Joe Biden to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any and all documents outlining plans for military assistance to Ukraine. Additionally, the resolution directs Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to disclose the number of United States Armed Forces, including special operators, deployed to Ukraine without Congressional authority. In a press release, Gaetz cited a classified document, dating from March 2023, that reveals the U.S. military had 14 members of special forces deployed in Ukraine. In a February 2023 House Armed Services hearing on “Oversight of U.S. Military Support to Ukraine,” Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. Colin Kahl had similarly told Gaetz that there are “a couple dozen” Department of Defense personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.
“The Biden Administration and other allied countries have been misleading the world on the state of the war in Ukraine,” Gaetz said. “There must be total transparency from this administration to the American people when they are gambling war with a nuclear adversary by having special forces operating in Ukraine.”
Separately, the House Freedom Caucus sent a letter to Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on them to explain reports of U.S. special forces being present in Ukraine. In the letter, obtained by the Daily Caller, Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale and six other Republicans call for answers to a number of questions regarding reports of U.S. military personnel in Ukraine, such as how many are there, why Congress was not notified, specifics about what the U.S. troops are doing there, and more.
“The Biden Administration has an alarming trend of overreach and a lack of transparency when it comes to our national security. The Constitution is clear that only Congress can declare war — the American people deserve answers regarding the presence of U.S. special forces in Ukraine,” Rosendale told the Caller.
