Ron DeSantis Is Clumsily Backing Away From His Past as a Russia Hawk

When then-President Barack Obama decided that the United States would not provide lethal weaponry as part of a $53 billion aid package to Ukraine in 2014, Ron DeSantis was quick to criticize the decision.

DeSantis, then a member of Congress representing Florida's 6th district, told conservative talk radio host Bill Bennett in 2015 that it was a mistake for Obama to refuse to provide arms to Ukraine after Russia's annexation of Crimea the previous year.

"I think that when someone like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin sees Obama being indecisive, I...