I am very glad to be joined by Representative Rokana from the 17th District in California.

Third time on bad faith podcast. Welcome back.

Thank you. Thanks for having me back, Brianna.

So this is a very busy and politically significant time of year. Of course, a lot of attention

is starting just now to be turned to midterms, but we are also about a month into this conflict

in Ukraine. I reached out to you in part because there was a conflict earlier this month on

Twitter with respect to your response to some questions about whether or not the United

States should be sending weapons to Ukraine, especially given longstanding reporting about

the impact of Nazis and certain cohorts of the military there, given the reality of the

Azov Italian existing. What do you think the litmus test should be as a leftist to providing

arms and weapons to any country, but in particular Ukraine, given the reality of the Azov Italian?

Brianna, let me say exactly where I stand. Putin's aggression was illegal, immoral, unprovoked.

We need to stand with Ukraine in defending their own sovereignty, in preventing women and children

from being bombed. There is no doubt, based on the public reporting, that our providing

anti-aircraft missiles are providing anti-tank missiles, are providing other types of weapons to

Ukraine, have been indispensable in the Ukrainian resistance. If we hadn't provided them, Russia would

have basically bulldozed over Ukraine, and they probably would have occupied most of Ukraine by now.

It is only our weapons that have allowed Zelensky and the Ukrainians to make this fight, and that's

public reporting. And even people who may disagree with some of the administration's policies

would acknowledge that about the situation. Now, there is the Azov battalion. The Azov battalion,

as I advocated back in 2017-2018, has neo-Nazi influences in the House past the law, based on my

advocacy, Alissa Slotkin's others saying that we don't want weapons getting to the Azov battalion.

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