Gov. Scott Walker (R., Wis.) has joined most other potential Republican presidential candidates in 2016 by expressing his support for arming Ukrainian forces, the Weekly Standard reported.
Walker is still developing foreign policy acumen after having spent most of his time as governor embroiled in domestic policy fights in Wisconsin. He told the Standard that he does support providing lethal aid to the Ukrainian military in their battle against Russian-backed separatists, a position that most other GOP hopefuls have already assumed:
Bit by bit, Walker is becoming more confident taking positions on foreign affairs. In our interview he expressed support for the first time for arming Ukraine.
"Putin is in a position where he is very much invoking Lenin’s old adage that you probe with bayonets, and if you find mush you advance, and if you find steel you withdraw," Walker said. "That doesn’t mean we’re fighting the war for them, but there are significant things we can do beyond what we’re doing, and lethal aid has got to be a part of it."
Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of state for Europe, told lawmakers this week that more Russian tanks and heavy weaponry have entered eastern Ukraine in recent days—a blatant violation of a ceasefire agreement reached last month. She said President Barack Obama was still contemplating whether to arm Ukraine.
More than 6,000 people have been killed in almost a year of fighting in eastern Ukraine.