U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, thinks President Biden is not doing enough to support our Eastern European allies in light of Russia’s recent military exercises along NATO’s border.

The Russian Federation recently concluded Zapad, its largest military exercise that takes place every four years:

“Putin has twice before used the Zapad exercise—simulating a Russian fight with NATO—to set the stage for invasions: Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014,” Inhofe said. “The stakes are even higher this year as Putin, ever the opportunist, might believe America is too distracted by Afghanistan to pay attention. We can’t take our eye off the ball. Deterrence is achieved by demonstrating our resolve to defend our allies and partners in Eastern Europe; we’ve learned it is far less costly to prevent Russian aggression than respond to it.”

Inhofe said giving additional emergency military aid to Ukraine is a good first step.

“The Senate Armed Services Committee markup of the NDAA increases Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding by an additional $50 million, for a total of $300 million, because my colleagues and I recognized that President Biden’s request was simply not enough,” Inhofe said.

“The Biden administration must uphold our commitment to deliver capabilities, especially lethal assistance, to deter Russian aggression. The 2018 National Defense Strategy rightly demands robust and targeted security assistance to nations on the front lines of great power competition who daily absorb the brunt of Putin’s provocations. If America is to maintain credibility as the security partner of choice with our allies and partners, this support is absolutely critical.”

Inhofe has criticized Biden for how the U.S. military mishandled the recent withdrawal from Afghanistan.