Republican Congressman Don Bacon told Drone Summit 2026 today that support for Baltic allies and Ukraine is strongly bipartisan in Congress, and that the current moment is a Churchill or Chamberlain choice.
Speaking in Riga, Bacon, a retired US Air Force brigadier general who represents Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district and sits on the House Armed Services Committee, opened by addressing concerns about US commitment to its allies directly. “Support for Latvia, but also their neighbors, is broadly and very strongly bipartisan. Congress stands with our Baltic allies. We also stand with our European friends and NATO,” he said, adding that a vote on sending further aid to Ukraine and toughening sanctions on Russia was due the following week.
Bacon spoke warmly of the Baltic states, drawing on their history of Soviet occupation. “These three countries are a bright beacon of freedom in the world. I think it inspires countries all over that they too can take the path of democracy and thrive,” he said, describing how Latvia in 1991 “rapidly pulled that band aid off and embraced democracy, free markets, rule of law.”
On Russia’s war in Ukraine, Bacon was unambiguous. “This fight in Ukraine is about good versus evil, a dictator versus a representative government, a government that wants to have rule of law and freedom, and countries are trying to take it away. It’s our national security interests that Russia fail.” He warned that Russian success would not stop at Ukraine’s borders. “If they succeed, Moldova will be next, and we know that they’re going to threaten the Baltics right here,” he said.
Bacon praised Ukraine’s battlefield innovation at length, noting the country is outnumbered four to one. “Ukraine had to innovate if they wanted to save their independence, their language, their culture, their history from Russian domination, and they’ve been extraordinarily effective. What they’re doing on the battlefield is incredible. They’re launching 10,000 drones a day, about 1,000 Russians are being killed or wounded a day, 900 of them from these drones, and they can do it with $5,000 drones.”
He argued the United States must adapt its own approach accordingly. “America has to figure out how to embrace this. We’re used to flying F-35s, Patriots, high-end expensive weapons, and we’ve got to learn how to adapt and also have these low-cost effective weapons,” he said, commending Latvia for positioning itself as a NATO leader on drone and counter-drone technology.
Bacon closed with a direct historical parallel. “This is our Winston Churchill or Neville Chamberlain moment, fighting for freedom or appeasing a dictator. I know where I stand. May God help us be the Churchills of today for freedom. If not, Russia and China will throw that away, and we’re going to live in a much more dangerous world.”
Bacon has been a member of the House Armed Services Committee since taking office in 2017 and has previously described certain approaches to adversaries as appeasement, consistently calling for a stronger and more robust Western posture toward Russia and China.
Best get rid of the fascist surrender-monkey traitor in the Whitehouse then.
Agree, it’s disgusting that guys like this can enable Trump then still have the brass neck to come to Europe and claim there is bi partisan support for Ukraine and NATO.
He should be called out on this along with all Republicans.
A Republican not afraid to counter the Trump narrative. There is hope and I’ll follow the imminent votes in Congress which have been long in coming to fruition.
He is about to stand down and won’t be running in the mid term elections and he has still supported most of Trumps agenda. He has enabled Trump just as much as any Republican in Congress despite his supportive words for Ukraine.
We should not pretend that there is any branch of the Republican Party that has any time for Ukraine, NATO or Europe.
That party sees NATO as nothing more than a tool for US foreign policy in supplementing US military power.