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On Monday, Feb 24, 2025, the day that marked three years of Putin's brutal full-scale invasion in Ukraine, I along with my husband and three children took the opportunity to meet with the office of Congressman Byron Donalds in Washington, D.C. as a part of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
During the meeting we discussed continued support for Ukraine with Rep. Donald's staff.
Some of the key issues made clear to us was the Congressman's concern about aid gone accounted for. As a huge proponent of military aid to Ukraine, I have never shied away from the issue of accountability. In fact, I have been outspoken on proactive transparency measures in Ukraine well before Russia's full-scale invasion, and you can read my 2018 article for the Borgen Magazine titled "Preventing Corruption in Foreign Assistance to Ukraine" and again in 2023 for The Breeze titled "Aid to Ukraine Necessary, and Well Watched." And while Rep. Donalds' staffer cited claims such as those made by Tucker Carlson who asserts that weapons are being sold on the black market, I let the staffer know these are not credible reports, especially given the fact that no source has backed them up. The fact is, it is quite impossible to sell American weapons on the black market, and I know this through first-hand knowledge of my volunteer work not only with U.S. military budget analysts with Protect Ukraine Now, but also with humanitarian military affairs organizations such as Ukraine Defense Support, in which I have had the opportunity to raise thousands of dollars in our own community to ship non-lethal military aid directly to Ukraine's front lines. Through this work, I have also had the opportunity to meet defense contractors within Rep. Donald's very own constituency who ship heavy artillery and munitions to Ukraine. Both myself and my friends in both Ukraine's and our US defense industry can assure the American public, those are solid defense logistical chains.
Nevertheless, I explained to Rep. Donald's staffer my personal belief that the inherent wastage in government spending does not outweigh our national security interest in supporting Ukraine's defense against Russia's mass murder campaign.
To that end, Rep. Donalds' staff then questioned why Ukraine would be a national security issue to Americans. I spoke from my own personal standpoint that U.S. support for Ukraine is a matter of national security interest, as it is not only our moral obligation to defend smaller countries who wish to align with American's principles in freedom and democracy, but also, our defense obligation, as punctuated by the '90s-era Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine as a sovereign nation should be able to pursue a cooperative partnership with the United States, irrespective if it contradicts the Russian regime's objectives, as Russia has actually been declared a top security threat to our nation. It is counter to U.S. policy to abandon Ukraine, which has been a key defense ally since the 1940s, when they helped the allies defeat Nazi Germany, as well as during the fall of the Soviet Union where the Ukrainians were a critical intelligence source for the CIA. Since 2014 the U.S.-Ukraine defense alliance was further solidified as we provided the Ukrainians military training in both Ukraine and in later years, the U.S. And In 2017 we began our lethal assistance, where President Trump himself was the first to send the Ukrainians American-made javelins. Our defense partnership continues strong under Ukraine-NATO interoperability, as well as American defense stakeholders building industry partnerships, not to mention, Ukraine's active defense measures provide critical military lessons for both U.S. and European defense alliances.
These are lessons which should be acted upon, such as, Ukraine's innovative SEAD tactics which use "long range" drone technology which were developed in spite of the fact that the U.S. has already provided long-range weapons to Ukraine but, are not able to be used to their full capacity due to the utter hypocrisy of the U.S. ban on long-range strikes -- restrictions which I strenuously implore to be lifted by our American politicians.
Geopolitically, western naval superiority is critical in the Black Sea region, which is enshrined in U.S. defense policy but which is now extremely insecure due to the entire Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory which can be characterized as a landbridge feeding Russian and North Korean infantry into Crimea, starting from the Donbas-Luhansk region (where my great friend Commander Yuri is currently stationed), all the way down to the Black Sea ports.
This is precisely why Ukraine must regain all of its territory. Any peace deal should involve the rejection of Russian occupation, as well as security guarantees which are necessary to achieve long-lasting peace in Ukraine. And this does not necessarily need to be Ukraine's NATO entry -- it can mean a country/any group of countries that will sign a defensive pact/guarantee. As a global military leader, the U.S. must be a part of Ukraine's defense.
Since Congressman Byron Donalds is a good friend of President Donald Trump, I asked his staffer to ensure my message gets not only to the Congressman, but to the president himself.
Many know I have been critical of Rep. Donalds over the years, just as he has been critical of U.S. support to Ukraine. However, important issues require us to have tough conversations, and I was honored to have the opportunity to meet with Rep. Donalds' Office to promote a working relationship and on behalf of my family and friends, I offer our sincere gratitude to his staff for this very special privilege to advocate for our U.S. national security interests in the war in Ukraine.
Lastly, I want to thank the Breeze (Newspapers) for helping me give voice to our people during these very difficult past years. It means the world…
Alexandra Zakhvatayev, a resident of Cape Coral, was proud to represent Florida during the "Ukrainian Days" advocacy event as part of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.