LUNA: Ukraine wants every American pay $200 per day to fund ‘mercenary army’ similar to Russia’s Wagner Group

"They want to not only demand that Americans pay $200 every single day, every American in the country because it is our 'obgligation' according to Ukraine, so that they can defend the western world from Russia. But they are also saying that they want F-35s," she said.

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"And if that isn't crazy enough, they're saying that after Russia leaves Crimea, which is where their head is at, they're going to potentially privatize and create a mercenary army similar to the Wagner Group. So that is the mindset of Ukraine. So why are we giving them more munitions?" Luna said.

The Wagner Group is a private militia group operating on behalf of Russia. It took the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut earlier in the conflict before handing it over to Russian troops. Leader of the group Yevgeny Prigozhin marched his forces on Moscow earlier this month in what was then termed a failed coup. However, Russian President Putin met with Progozhin in the days following.

Zelensky has said outright that the only way he could see the war coming to a successful close is if Crimea is back under Ukraine's control. This is likely a non-starter for Russia, which overtook the region and has continued to gain terroritory in Ukraine.

Luna has co-sponsored a resolution to prevent cluster bombs, the use of which the Biden administration has said is a war crime, from going to Ukraine. That resolution also has the backing Reps. Matt Gaetz and Sara Jacobs.

"Not only are they highly dangerous for civilians and children," Luna said, but "...there is a potential that these will be unexploded ordinance and that there will have to be a massive demining effort afterwards."

On Monday, Gaetz said in a tweet "I will be the Republican co-sponsor on the NDAA amendment introduced by Rep. Sara Jacobs to stop the transfer of cluster bombs. These cluster bombs will not end the war in Ukraine and will not build a more stable country. Children will be left without limbs and without parents because of this decision if we do not work together in a bipartisan fashion to stop it."

https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1678485019180822540?s=20

On Tuesday, NATO decided not to allow Ukraine to make a bid to join the alliance. Zelensky fumed over the denial. Many allies of the US have spoken out against the deployment of cluster bombs to the war zone, though Biden, in justifying the move, let slip that the country was "running out of ammunition."

President Trump, Biden's top political opponent, weighed in on the matter on Tuesday, saying that he condemned the action as "dragging us further toward World War III."