This week a spotlight has once again been shone on Victoria Spartz, the Ukrainian-born Republican lawmaker who is not a stranger to controversy.
Born in Chernihiv Oblast, she moved to the U.S. in 2000. She was elected to Congress three times, in 2020, 2022, and 2024, and represents Indiana's 5th District.
Despite her roots, Spartz had not been publicly involved in Ukraine-related issues until Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
In the aftermath of the invasion, Spartz began speaking about the war in deeply personal terms. She was present in the Oval Office when President Joe Biden signed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022.
But in the years since, she has drawn criticism for her shifting stance on aid to Ukraine, as well as a series of controversial public statements.
Admitting to using war in Ukraine for electoral purposes
Spartz claimed in 2022, without offering evidence, that U.S. weapons provided to Ukraine could be redirected to other countries, including Syria, Russia, and Mexico.
Responding to the claim, then-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused her of spreading a "narrative (that) was launched 100% by the Russian Federation."
He also suggested Spartz deliberately mentioned Mexico for political reasons as it "works perfectly in U.S. domestic policy," given the high levels of immigration from countries across the southern border.
In an interview with Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov in August 2022, Spartz confirmed Kuleba was right.
"Why did I say Mexico? Because one has to understand our situation in the U.S. Our president (then-Democrat President Joe Biden) has decided to completely open our borders with Mexico, and we have an influx of people from South America," she said.
"Our border officers have huge problems, while cartels are paying a lot on the black market for different weapons."
Alleging Ukrainians hate Zelensky
Following a tense exchange between President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, Spartz accused Zelensky of doing "a serious disservice to the Ukrainian people by insulting the American president and the American people — just to appease Europeans and increase his low polling in Ukraine."
The claim echoed earlier false statements from Trump, who said that Zelensky had an approval rating of 4%.
However, a February survey before the clash with Trump put Zelensky's trust level at 57%, with a trust-distrust balance of +20%.
The most recent polling shows Zelensky's trust rating surging to 69% in the wake of the Oval Office showdown.
Accusing Zelensky of controlling media in Ukraine… and Britain
More recently, in an interview published on April 7 by the Telegraph, Spartz said Ukraine should consider ceding land to Russia and urged its people to demand the resignation of Zelensky.
After facing backlash from Ukrainian officials and media, Spartz accused the Telegraph of intentionally misrepresenting her views.
"I would not be surprised that Zelensky is paying The Telegraph to fabricate false headlines to continue making money on the blood of the Ukrainian people."
It's not the first time Spartz accused the Ukrainian president of holding sway over free media.
"Zelensky took control of all Ukrainian media, prosecutes churches, businesses, and volunteers, covered up corruption for his friends, uses 'puppet' prosecutors to unlawfully imprison and intimidate anyone who tells the truth about his failures to defend his country or could be a potential political opponent, including his own military and generals," Spartz wrote on Feb. 20.
No evidence was provided, while no Ukrainian media outlet is known of being controlled by the country's president.
Concerning Spartz's comments about churches, the best response came from Pastor Mark Burns, sometimes referred to as Trump's "spiritual advisor."
"My support for Ukraine is not a stab at him, but a call to every Republican, every conservative, every American, and those around the world who, like me, have been brainwashed by fake news media about Ukraine," Burns told the Kyiv Independent.
"For instance, fake news suggested that Ukraine hated churches, Ukraine hated ministries, that they intentionally destroyed ministries."
"Well, that is a bold-faced lie because I was in the midst of some of Ukraine's greatest spiritual leaders from all different sects and religious organizations in one room in Kyiv, and they all have the same common ground — they have the right to practice their faith in Ukraine," he said.
Criticizing Ukrainians in Kyiv for eating out
In an interview with European Pravda in September, Spartz lambasted people living in Kyiv for doing normal things like eating in cafes or restaurants.
"You are not preparing for war. You even act like you donʼt have a war. People are sitting in restaurants in Kyiv as if you donʼt have war anymore because the war has gone to the east," she said.
As pointed out by the Ukrainian news outlet Svidomi, maintaining some level of normality in wartime is essential for a country's economy, not to mention the mental state of its citizens.
Chris York
