House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the US must continue supporting Ukraine to prevent a broader war, and he blamed the delay in aiding the fight against Russia on a “pro-Putin faction” within the Republican Party, writes CBS NEWS.

“We can’t let Ukraine fall because if it does, then there’s a significant likelihood that America will have to get into the conflict - not simply with our money, but with our servicewomen and our servicemen”, - Jeffries said in an interview with Norah O’Donnell for 60 Minutes.

Jeffries explained that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to recreate the Soviet Union, and in doing so, will threaten NATO allies. Putin’s invasion of neighboring Georgia did not stop there, Jeffries pointed out, nor did his takeover of Crimea in eastern Ukraine: “Are we to believe that in the face of this kind of consistent aggression that if we allow Vladimir Putin to succeed in Ukraine that he’s only going to stop in Ukraine? Of course not. There is a growing pro-Putin faction in the Republican party that does not want to support Ukraine and believes for some reason that Russia is not an enemy of the US”.

He is not alone in this assessment. He pointed to remarks last month from Rep. Michael McCaul, the Republican chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Mike Turner, the Republican chair of the Intelligence Committee, both of whom said in interviews that Russian propaganda has infiltrated their party.