Five takeways from 'explosive' testimony
Although Taylor didn't appear in front of television cameras, his 15-page opening statement was quickly leaked to the Washington Post, providing the veteran diplomat's unfiltered take on his connection to the rapidly unfolding story of the Trump administration's Ukraine policy machinations.
……
Ukraine
under siege
Taylor detailed the strategic
significance of Ukraine, underlining that he viewed Trump's decision to delay
military aid as one that put lives at risk.
In one of the most dramatic passages
of Taylor's opening statement, he describes a visit to the eastern front of
Ukraine's civil war, where he stared across a river at Russian-led military
forces. He relayed his unease as the Ukrainian military commander thanked him
for military support Taylor knew was being delayed.
"Over 13,000 Ukrainians had
been killed in the war, one or two a week," Taylor testified. "More
Ukrainians would undoubtedly die without the US assistance."
Taylor bookended his opening
statement by emphasising the importance of US support for Ukraine and the
heroism of the Ukrainian people, who he said were standing up to Russian
aggression and yearning for a "more secure and prosperous life".
"If we believe in the principle of sovereignty of nations on which our
security and the security of our friends and allies depends, we must support
Ukraine in its fight against its bullying neighbour," he said.In Taylor's opinion, the stakes were too high for what he saw as the administration's back-channel efforts to use Ukraine as a pawn in an US political game; it was more than a political controversy, for Ukrainians it was a matter of life or death.
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50146358
