Russian propaganda pushed by the Kremlin has “infected” part of the Republican base, a senior GOP congressman has said, as indications grow that a vital U.S. military package for Ukraine will come up for a vote with U.S. lawmakers this month.

“I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chair and Texas Republican, Michael McCaul, told Puck News.

“If there is no U.S. support, it means that we have no air defense, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155-milimetre artillery rounds,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Washington Post in an interview published in late March.

“The delay in passing the supplemental has undoubtedly emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime,” the U.S. think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in December.

Should Ukraine fall, the Kremlin will turn to neighboring nations like Moldova and Georgia, and then look to the Baltic region on NATO’s eastern flank, he said.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson—contending with his own precarious position—is now expected to bring a vote on Ukraine funding when Congress returns from recess next week.

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