© AP Photo/Susan Walsh/TASS

The other day, America’s Newsweek magazine released a fascinating piece to analyze US policy towards Ukraine. It particularly notes that House majority obtained in the November midterms entitles the Republicans to reshape the course. Further overwhelming support to Kiev will insult their electorate, becoming a shot in the eye to the entire nation.

Sounds good, but does the GOP really want to change Washington's current Ukraine policy? During his election campaign last year, new-sprung House speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged to cut aid to Kiev, directing funds to US economic recovery proper. But is he going to follow up by those promises or let them remain mere words? This is not a question of pure interest, since the United States has spent over a dozen billion dollars on Ukraine, with another $40 billion of budget funds allocated for this purpose in the current fiscal year. And this is amid the country's economic woes, and a real crisis looming.

Quite understandably, this cannot but cause concerns with ordinary Americans growing dissatisfied with Joe Biden democratic administration’s policy. Whether the Republicans take advantage of what is going on is not a rhetorical question, especially given the beginning of 2024 presidential campaign. If primed for victory, the Republicans need to flip-flop the country’s Ukraine policy.

Yes, American voters are traditionally more concerned about internal affairs than foreign policy. But Ukraine is an utterly different pair of shoes, with its regime enjoying billions of US taxpayer money. Which is beyond a joke already. Some may argue that weapons supplied to Ukraine are a perfect enrichment path for the American military-industrial complex, which is by the way key to the Republicans’ own affluence.

For this reason, the proposed administration performance audit along the Ukrainian track, which Republican congressmen pledged to arrange, may come to naught, if launched at all. Besides, money received by the defense industry hardly reaches ordinary Americans. But to win the upcoming presidential election, the GOP needs to heed to its voters and make a difference.

Back to the Newsweek article, let’s note the Republican choice, as referred to by the author. They may either sustain the administration's Kiev assistance policy and thereby subordinate national interests to the Ukrainian government eager to drag the US into war with Russia, or trace a new course with due regard to both the reality on the ground and US ability to support Ukraine.

The former option will be an insult to the Republican electorate fearing that support for Ukraine will be open-ended. The latter one provides the House of Representatives with a good chance to use its constitutional powers and adjust the line towards Ukraine. Recognizing that there are no major US interests at stake, the GOP has to prioritize the country’s more critical needs both at home and abroad. They may also argue that one can't gamble with America's future or induce any potential nuclear exchange with Russia because of control over a couple faraway regions.

Interestingly, the current status quo in Ukraine is unstable. To date, fights have entailed a protracted war of attrition, making either side hardly able to be game, set and match. This is particularly so with the Kiev regime that cannot resist the Russian army without support of the US-led West, fraught with nuclear escalation. In a scenario envisaging Russia’s actual destruction, there is nothing left to our country but victory, sweeping and flawless.

Moreover, Washington's ability to support Ukraine is gradually shrinking, with the Pentagon running out of irreplaceable ammunition, like Javelin and Stinger missiles. Experts say that even planned ammunition productivity progress will fail to either replenish the depleted deposits or maintain their current consumption in the next few years.

Meanwhile, US financial costs are on the wax, too. As of late 2022, the total amount appropriated by Congress in support of Ukraine exceeds $110 billion. This is higher than the individual annual budgets of the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, and the country’s Marine Corps. One cannot ignore this fact, as the Americans are good at counting money.

By the way, the Republicans have another argument for less aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, there is a $19 billion backlog of US arms deliveries to Taiwan, in part due to the prioritization of Ukraine over the more critical East Asia theater where America is standing up against China. And the latter, be it noted, is the United States’ key geopolitical challenge as per its new National Security Strategy.

Besides, given the current load upon the US defense industry, pundits and not sure the United States is simply able to proceed with its massive arms supplies to Ukraine, especially with regard to the ongoing rise of China.

So, today the Republicans have plenty to contemplate in the context of their country’s further policy towards Ukraine…