As brave Ukrainian citizens battle invading Russian forces, GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois is calling for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace.
Kinzinger described the situation in dramatic fashion: “The fate of #Ukraine is being decided tonight, but also the fate of the west. Declare a #NoFlyZone over Ukraine at the invitation of their sovereign govt. Disrupt Russias air ops to give the heroic Ukrainians a fair fight. It’s now, or later,” he tweeted.
“History teaches that taking a stand is inevitable and gets more costly with time. We own the skies, Russia cannot hold a candle to our Air power. Do this. Putin is too dangerous to hope he is satisfied with ‘just Ukraine,'” he added.
Some people on social media pushed back against the idea.
“This psycho — held up as some Profile in Courage by establishment liberals who still wake up every morning distraught about January 6 — is now demanding direct US military hostilities with Russia, which Putin said would precipitate nuclear war. So that’s where we’re at,” one person wrote in response to Kinzinger.
Kinzinger fired back, “Putin threatening nukes is a good reminder that Putin must be stopped. <side note Putin will NOT use nukes over a no-fly zone>. The legit govt of Ukraine has a right to defend their skies with help. Full stop.”
The congressman, who is not seeking reelection, was recently chastised by the Republican National Committee, which passed a resolution censuring him and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
The two lawmakers, who have both been vocal critics of former President Donald Trump, were among the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-president Trump last year in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. They are also the only two Republicans serving on the House select committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6 episode.