Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran broke from many of his Republican colleagues during a trip to Wichita this week by reiterating his support for Ukraine and condemning Russia’s actions in the country.
“In my view, the world is a safer place and, most particularly, the United States is safer whenever we are aligned with our allies, and we're in a continued effort to push the Russians and Putin out of Ukraine,” Moran said.
He said that he has long advocated that the United States and Europe support Ukraine. He added that there was no doubt in his mind that Russian President Vladimir Putin was the aggressor in the war that has stretched beyond three years and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Moran reaffirmed his support of the Ukrainian cause during a visit to the National Institute of Aviation Research with Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden. Moran said the defense work done by Northrop Grumman and its contractors in Wichita was an important element of ensuring that the United States could “lead” and defend itself and its allies.
His statements preceded an eventful 18 hours in American-Ukrainian diplomacy. The White House announced Monday evening that the United States would pause all aid to Ukraine, following a contentious meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
During the meeting, Trump said Zelenskyy did not appear grateful enough for the $180 billion in aid directed to Ukraine by the United States from the start of the war. He also claimed that Zelenskyy was too focused on his hatred for Putin and did not want peace.
On Tuesday morning, Zelenskyy said in a post on X that the meeting was “regrettable”. He added he was ready to work with Trump and sign a rare-earth minerals deal with the United States. Trump made clear continued U.S. support was contingent on the deal.
Moran’s statements on aid and support for Ukraine contrast with fellow Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall. He tweeted alongside a video of the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting “not one penny more,” in reference to aid to Ukraine.
Differences between the senators’ stances became clearer during a recent town hall for Marshall in Oakley over the weekend. During the event, Marshall said of U.S. aid to Ukraine, “I think we’ve done enough here,” and called the conflict “Europe’s war.”
Marshall’s town hall made national news after videos of him leaving the event early to boos from constituents went viral online.
Moran spoke briefly about the discussion around town halls during his Wichita visit.
“I understand the value of town hall meetings,” Moran said. “I don't imagine there's anybody who's had more town hall meetings in Kansas than me.
"But in this current environment, it's become the spectacle, not something that is easily — an education.”
Moran said that the length of the Congressional work week in Washington, D.C., often made it difficult for him to get back to Kansas, but he committed to trying to “be in front of people” more.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time with Kansans and make sure that I’m in no way removed from the way that they think about things, the things they’re looking for,” Moran said. “But it is clearly a divided country today.”
Moran had his own group of protesters for a portion of his visit to Wichita. During a stop at Wichita State University’s Innovation campus with Warden, protesters held signs in support of Ukraine and opposing Trump and Elon Musk against the windows of one of the buildings the senator and CEO visited.
Protests did not slow the visit's progress to NIAR. There, Warden and Moran toured the facilities and discussed the abilities of Kansas’ aviation workforce.
Warden’s visit to both NIAR and Spirit AeroSystems appeared to quiet some concern about how an upcoming sale of Spirit to Boeing might impact key defense contracts handled by Spirit.
Northrop Grumman has long worked with Spirit on production of the Air Force’s B-21 Raider. Warden said the company remains dedicated to that work.
“We want to do what is necessary to continue to make that program a success as we ramp up and build the aircraft for our U.S. Air Force,” Warden said. ”We are committed to the people who are doing that work every day — regardless of the company that they work for.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
