NEW: Senate Rs defense hawks said supplying Ukraine w/ all the "lethal military aid" it needs to repel Russian invaders won't draw the US any deeper into the conflict than it already is b/c Putin has already personally declared war on America. by @WARojas businessinsider.com/biden-putin-ze…
"He said 'We're at war with the United States' when we put the sanctions on," Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican of Idaho, told reporters at the US Capitol. "We're certainly not at war with Russia. He thinks we are."
GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio brushed aside concerns that giving Zelenskyy what he wants, including fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles to defend against Russian airstrikes, would make the US more of an active participant. Because, he said, it's already happening.
"This notion that providing additional lethal weaponry — which we've already been providing — is escalatory, I just don't buy it," Portman said at the Capitol.
Portman added: "Stinger missiles are taking down Russian airplanes with Russian pilots in them already. What we're talking about is just giving Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves."
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