Ukraine invites Ron DeSantis to visit after he dismisses war

A Ukrainian official has invited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to visit the war-torn country after the Republican said the year-old Russian invasion was a “territorial dispute” that was of no “vital” interest to the US.

Oleg Nikolenko, the main spokesman for Kyiv’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tagged DeSantis in a tweet Tuesday while noting the would-be presidential candidate’s service in the US Navy.

“We are sure that as a former military officer deployed to a combat zone, Governor [DeSantis] knows the difference between a ‘dispute’ and war,” Nikolenko wrote of the governor’s dismissive categorization.

“We invite him to visit Ukraine to get a deeper understanding of Russia’s full-scale invasion and the threats it poses to US interests,” Nikolenko said.

The invite followed pushback on DeSantis from several high-profile Republicans after the Florida governor claimed the US was giving “virtual ‘blank check’ funding” to Ukraine while ignoring “our country’s most pressing challenges.”

“While the US has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis had told Fox News host Tucker Carlson Monday night.

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley accused DeSantis of copying former President Donald Trump, arguing that “America is far better off with a Ukrainian victory than a Russian victory.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also argued that the war was of vital importance to the West because if Putin wins, “more conflict is coming.”

“When it comes to Putin, you either pay now or pay later,” Graham tweeted.

“Giving in to Putin in Ukraine, in terms of American national security interests, is Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan on steroids,” he argued.