First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of working to tilt America's midterm elections toward the Democrats.
"Zelenskyy is working overtime," Lee wrote on X. "To help Democrats in November."
Lee's post on X, October 10, 2026 — view the original post.
It is the sharpest version yet of a case Lee has been making for months: that Kyiv's wartime decisions are hurting American interests — and, by extension, helping the Democratic Party with the midterms now only weeks away.
Lee has been one of the Senate's steadiest opponents of Ukraine funding, arguing Washington should secure its own southern border before sending another dollar abroad. In his telling, Ukraine's campaign of drone strikes against Russian oil refineries — which the Trump administration blames for driving up diesel prices for American farmers, truckers, and shippers — undercuts the president's push for a settlement and hands Democrats an economic talking point.
The charge lands at a low point in the Washington-Kyiv relationship. On Friday, President Trump announced a diesel supply arrangement with Vladimir Putin that Zelenskyy denounced as a "betrayal." On Sunday, Trump declared an immediate "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine — an announcement Zelenskyy told Axios was news to him, though he said Ukraine would honor it if Russia does.
Lee's skepticism of the Ukraine effort is long-standing. He has repeatedly pressed his colleagues to put border security ahead of foreign aid, and his criticism has only sharpened as the administration's negotiations with Moscow have accelerated — including Friday's diesel deal and Sunday's ceasefire announcement, both of which put Washington and Kyiv on opposite sides of the table.
Lee has made his position clear: in his view, Zelenskyy's moves help Democrats and hurt the president's drive to end the war. With November approaching, the fight over Ukraine is now a fight over the midterms too.