WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV anchor Michael Williams spoke with U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida, and U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Florida, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Congress on Wednesday.
Mast said every American should be upset that Congress has not had and is still not having sustained, deliberative talks about how best to confront and deal with Russia.
And Mast, an Army combat veteran, argues a no-fly zone over Ukraine — denying Russia's military that airspace — should not be ruled out.
"I believe that there should be a no-fly zone," Mast said. "I believe more than it being F-35, U.S. F-35 jets, that it should be German jets, Turkish jets, French jets from the European Union enforcing that no-fly zone. I believe that we should be supporting armaments beyond just surface-to-air missiles to the Ukraine, such as getting them the jets that they need to go out there and wage war against Russia. This is all-out war."
Mast talked about the dangers of red lines being crossed and the prospect for possible nuclear conflict.
"I think that we can say we are on the doorstep of that, one way or another," Mast said. "I believe, personally, that it's more because of weakness. There is not a peace through strength element that is going on here. Take us back to the beginning of what happened with this war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin amassed hundreds of thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border and the world did nothing."
INTERVIEW WITH REP. MAST:
Frankel called Zelenskyy's address to Congress "heartbreaking," saying many Congress members watching the address were in tears.
"What's going on in Ukraine — not only death and destruction, such sorrow and sadness for the people of Ukraine — but it is a threat against the whole free world what Putin is doing, and he must be held accountable," Frankel said. "Our country, we've stepped up in a big way. The president united the entire free world against Putin. We have very strong, aggressive economic sanctions underway. We have given literally over $1 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine."
INTERVIEW WITH REP. FRANKEL:
The Biden Administration does not want a direct conflict with Russia.
A no-fly zone would mean trying to deny Russian combat aircraft the skies over Ukraine. But President Biden on Wednesday did pledge more anti-aircraft and drone systems to Ukraine.