A New York politician is asking Americans this week to donate guns so he can send them to Ukraine to be used against the Russian invasion.
GOP Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told the New York Post on Wednesday that he is organizing the donations in order to support the Ukrainian resistance fighting back against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attacks.
“Just watching the Ukrainian residents making Molotov cocktails in a brewery out of beer bottles shows they’re in a desperate flight and we can’t stand by and do nothing,” Blakeman said. “As President Zelensky said: he doesn’t need a ride, he needs weapons.”
Blakeman is specifically looking for hunting rifles and semiautomatic firearms like AR-15s. He admitted, however, that he has not determined a way to transport the guns thousands of miles east to Ukraine.
The politician is operating a four-day gun drive over the weekend, despite lacking a shipment plan. He said donations can be dropped off at a licensed gun store, SP Firearms Unlimited, in Franklin Square, New York.
“I will be the first to buy a gun and donate it to the Ukrainian people,” Blakeman said, adding that he has raised over $20,000 for the project.
Late last month, President Joe Biden authorized an additional $350 million in military aid, including Javelin anti-tank weapons, to support the Ukrainian resistance.
“It is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, according to Defense News.
Biden has asked Congress this week for $10 billion more to help Ukraine.
In January, Biden’s administration also sent a shipment of about 80 tons of U.S. weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, to Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the arrival of the weapons shipment in a tweet.
“Javelins in Kyiv!A new cargo of security aid – launchers&missiles – with a total weight of about 80 tons.We expect the arrival of the 4th from the big flock of birds soon. Thanks to our strategic partner @WhiteHouse@congressdotgov@USEmbassyKyiv@UKRintheUSA@DeptofDefense,” Reznikov said.
The push to continue helping Ukraine comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that if a third world war happens, it would be destructive and involve nuclear weapons.
Lavrov later deflected nuclear war talk to the U.S., accusing Biden of saying that the only alternative to sanctions is World War III and that “it only can be nuclear war.” Lavrov’s comments apparently came in response to remarks Biden made in a podcast episode with Brian Tyler Cohen released Saturday.
“Look, you have two options: Start a third World War, go to war with Russia physically. Or two, make sure that a country that acts so contrary to international law that ends up paying a price for having done it,” Biden said.
