Liberty University’s School of Business Dean Dave Brat recently returned from a trip to Kiev, Ukraine, with religious leaders and academics to survey the country amid its ongoing war with Russia.
Brat said Ukrainian officials were attempting to woo his group of conservative Christians on board with funding the country’s fight against Russia during the week-long trip; however, he noted that his stance on funding the war “hasn’t changed.”
“I’m obviously opposed to that, but you still have a heart for the Ukrainian people. They’re very Christian. We met with the Ukrainian Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish, Muftis, every tradition. They’re being bombed and they’re going to fight to the death for their country,” Brat explained during Wednesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Brat (pictured above) explained how Ukraine’s fight with Russia was a result of the U.S. “poking the bear” in the years leading up to the war, including the continued push for expanded NATO territory and the U.S. supply of missiles being shot into the country.
“The U.S. has been poking and prodding this. We promised them after the wall fell that we wouldn’t move one inch to the east. Instead, we have 14 NATO countries moving further toward Russia. Ukraine was the last red line, and Russia said absolutely not,” Brat said.
“The U.S. now, under our guidance, is shooting missiles into Russia…We’re doing everything we can to provoke him into this war…We wanted a war with Russia. We want to weaken Russia. There’s about $3 trillion worth of rare earth minerals, et cetera, over there. There’s gas and oil…It’s morally corrupt ,” Brat added.
Brat said that while the Ukrainians understand that the U.S. is “using” their country to fight Russia, the citizens have no alternative other than to fight for their freedoms.
“I told them, [the U.S.] is using you and they said we know, and that’s okay with us because we don’t have any alternative,” Brat said.
Brat also noted how Ukrainians appeared to be “sick” of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as the people believe their leader will abandon the country once the war is ended.
“I think they’re sick of the actor and they know he’s going to depart to a rich dock house somewhere in the world and that will sicken them,” Brat said.
Looking ahead to President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, Brat said he believes Trump will end the war between Ukraine and Russia the “right” way.
“One just hopes that Trump can put some pressure on Russia…When he comes in, he’s going to say enough of this we’re out of here and we’re going to do it right,” Brat said.
Watch the full interview:
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
