Page:2019-12-02-report-of-evidence-in-the-democrats-impeachment-inquiry-in-the-house-of-representatives.pdf/53

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4. Despite President Trump's skepticism, the Trump Administration's policies have shown greater commitment and support to Ukraine than those of the Obama Administration.

Several of the Democrats' witnesses testified that President Trump has taken a stronger stance in supporting Ukraine. Dr. Hill testified that President Trump's decision to support Ukraine with lethal defensive weapons was a more robust policy than under the Obama Administration.[1] Ambassador Taylor characterized President Trump's policy as a "substantial improvement."[2] Ambassador Yovanovitch agreed, testifying:

And I actually felt that in the 3 years that I was there, partly because of my efforts, but also the interagency team, and President Trump's decision to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, that our policy actually got stronger over the three last 3 years [sic].[3]

She added:

Q. Can you testify to the difference [to] the changes in aid to Ukraine with the new administration starting in 2017? The different initiatives, you know, as far as providing lethal weapons and –

A. Yeah. Well, I think that most of the assistance programs that we had, you know, continued, and due to the generosity of the Congress actually were increased. And so that was a really positive thing, I think, for Ukraine and for us. In terms of lethal assistance, we all felt it was very significant that this administration made the decision to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine.[4]

Ambassador Volker also explained how President Trump's policies of providing lethal defensive assistance to Ukraine have been "extremely helpful" in deterring Russian aggression in Ukraine.[5] He explained:

So there has been U.S. assistance provided to Ukraine for some time, under the Bush administration, Obama administration, and now under the Trump administration. I was particularly interested in the security assistance and lethal defensive weapons. The reason for this is this was something that the Obama administration did not approve. They did not want to send lethal defensive arms to Ukraine. I fundamentally disagreed with that decision. It is not my – you know, I was just a private citizen, but that's my opinion. I thought
  1. ↑ Hill deposition, supra note 12, at 196.
  2. ↑ Taylor deposition, supra note 47, at 155.
  3. ↑ Yovanovitch deposition, supra note 115, at 140-41 (emphasis added).
  4. ↑ Id. at 144.
  5. ↑ Volker transcribed interview,supra note 60, at 87.

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