Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Newsmax on Wednesday that Russia has "to see strength from the world" or it’s "just going to continue to roll forward."
Discussing the ongoing war in Ukraine on Newsmax's "National Report," the congressman said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on President Joe Biden to be a leader for peace during his speech to Congress on Wednesday morning.
"There's an old Russian proverb that says when you probe with the bayonet, if you find mush you push. If you find steel you withdraw," Clyde said. "So, Ukraine has to show Russia its steel and the world has to show Russia its steel so that Russia will withdraw or be defeated in Ukraine."
Clyde said that Biden needs to emulate former President Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" Cold War approach when dealing with the Kremlin.
"Should we be sending lethal munitions and lethal support? Lethal equipment to Ukraine?" he added. "Absolutely, I think that's the right thing to do.
"I think the President needs to continue down that path because that's what Ukraine is going to have to have to properly defend itself against Russian aggression. And this is Russian aggression."
The congressman said that Ukraine did not cause the war and is not responsible for what is occurring there.
"Russia is the aggressor here, and Vladimir Putin, in my opinion, is a war criminal for what he has been doing in Ukraine, and you saw that vividly in the video in today's briefing," he said.
The Hill reports that Poland announced last Tuesday that it was prepared to send all 28 of its MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany to be forwarded to Ukraine and wanted the U.S. to essentially replace the planes with new F-16 fighter jets for Poland.
The Pentagon quickly vetoed the plan because it felt that Russia could perceive the move as escalatory, according to The Hill.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a resolution Wednesday that supports the transfer of the Polish MiG-29s to Ukraine.
During an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, Graham said he thought President Biden "folded like a cheap suit" on the issue.
"What I think happened is that the Russians told Biden and his team that if you send these MiGs in, that would be an escalation, and they were intimidated by Putin," the senator said. "We can't let Putin determine who's in NATO; we can't let Putin determine what we do to help Ukraine."
A three-tour Iraq combat veteran, Clyde said he would like to hear more about what Graham's resolution would entail before acting.
"I think it would be a good thing if Congress had a briefing from the top military brass," he said.
"We're already supplying [Ukraine] with Stinger missiles and we're supplying them with Javelins, so I would really like, before Congress weighs in on it, I would like a briefing from our top military leaders just to see the pros and cons of exactly what that would mean," he continued. "You just want to make lethal decisions with the best information possible."
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