Zelenskyys Taken Ukraine This Far. A Republicanled House Could Push Him Back.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a press conference on April 23 at the Independence Square metro station in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was named "Person of the Year" shortly after the first drone strike on a remote Russian military base. The magazine praised Zelensky for "proving that courage is as contagious as fear" and "reminding the world of the fragility of democracy with the spirit of Ukraine."

This narrative—that Ukraine paid a price to preserve democracy for all of us—is critical to maintaining public support for Ukraine. Zelenskiy's charisma and master narrative enable American leaders and citizens to participate in the survival of democracy. Zelensky allowed the United States to benefit from fighting Russia without putting a single American soldier at risk.

It has worked so far. After Russian troops invaded Ukraine in late February 2022, Zelensky's spirit inspired an all-out defense of America and Europe. A joint session of Congress soon followed with $68 billion in US military aid (and counting). Early intelligence assessments and Russian propaganda led the world to hope that an occupying army would soon topple Zelensky's government in Kiev, while Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained the illusion of democracy by installing a puppet regime that would respond head-on. In a year when the invasion of Crimea in 2014 resulted in minimal sanctions and the world moved on, Putin has reason to believe that the invasion in 2022 will be easy.

The President of Ukraine announced him as the person of the year

narrow margin home network lock control; Legislation is not a priority for the GOP, but Rachel Maddow's history of narrow House majorities has often led to deadlocks in attempts to pass legislation, but Republicans have no legislative agenda and such narrow margins are good for them. The committee intends to use its powers to impeach President Biden in 2024 over the scandal. MSNBC
In this year's midterm elections, Republicans have little control of the House and Democrats of the Senate. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was named House Speaker, but many Republican lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with his leadership. NBC News presidential historian Michael Beclass and TIME magazine national politics correspondent Molly Ball, "Pelosi" author, join VOA to discuss changes in Congress after the midterm elections. MSNBC
Why FTX Collapsed - And Why FTX Matters In other words, all the money is gone. New Republic member Jacob Silverman joins Mehdi to discuss the FTX results, along with actor and cryptocurrency skeptic Ben McKenzie. MSNBC

The war has already entered its tenth month. Putin may be a victim of his own mistakes, admitting this week that his war with Ukraine could be a "long process". Morale was not on the side of the Russian soldiers; NATO and Ukraine lack the equipment and training to match allies rising from hell to defend their homelands. 12 Russian generals who were expelled from the square lost their lives. For the first time in decades, Russians took to the streets with patriotic fervor. Coupled with sanctions that nearly shut down Russia's central bank and crippled Russia's oil economy, the full cost of Putin's imperial ambitions hit home for everyday Russians.

But until Putin changes his mind—until he decides it's over—all parties involved in this war will step up their efforts to win. After sending US military trainers to Poland, sending 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the front lines and more than a million artillery pieces, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers now wants to send advanced drones to counter Ukraine's growing capabilities. Drones give Ukraine a "strategic warfare capability." As Russia uses Iran-supplied drones against civilians, Ukraine wants US drones to fly over Russian territory for 30 hours, striking warships in the Black Sea.

However, this unequivocal support of the United States may change in the coming months. Republican lawmakers are promoting language to rein in Pentagon spending in Ukraine that would cut off U.S. military aid at a critical juncture in the war. "Blank checks are timed out," the representative said. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned.

When the war started, 80% of Republicans supported Ukraine; As Republicans prepare to take over the House of Representatives next month, support for Ukraine has dropped by 30 percent. This should come as no surprise; We know that the preservation of democracy and the preservation of the liberal world order after World War II are not high on Trump's agenda. This week, the former president stepped up his attack on democracy by calling for the suspension of the US Constitution.

The next Congress cannot use taxpayer money to protect democracy at home or abroad. The committee's formal investigation ended on January 6; Each new committee meeting that day could focus on a protester being the victim of a law enforcement attack. House Republicans also plan to investigate the "Hunter Biden laptop" used by Donald Trump to pressure Zelenskiy into US election politics.

Three years ago, Zelensky found himself on the cover of the same Time magazine, describing himself as a "caught mediator between Putin and Trump." At that time, activists said, "Zelensky would never interfere in the internal politics of the United States." This was before Russia deployed its largest force since the Cold War, renovating cities and erasing Ukraine from the world. Zelensky had no choice but to continue his campaign to convince the Americans and their politicians that a proxy war with Russia was worth it.

Zelensky is now in the uncomfortable position of selling democracy to unwilling American leaders.

This article originally appeared on MSNBC.com.