A bipartisan group of U.S. senators traveled to Ukraine to meet up with with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials on a journey built to display solidarity with Ukraine amid fears of Russian aggression.
“We believe that this is a critical time for us to come,” Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, explained to reporters in in between conferences. “To Russia: We stand with the Ukrainian men and women and with this federal government. In simple fact, Congress not long ago handed an raise to $300 million in stability funding to Ukraine in the National Defense Authorization Act.”
With tens of 1000’s of Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s border, the Biden administration is threatening unprecedented sanctions and other difficult steps if Russia normally takes army action in opposition to Ukraine. The Biden administration also has ready a new U.S. package deal of armed service assist for Ukraine, in addition to the American army aid that is currently flowing to Kyiv, recent and former officers mentioned.
Aside from Portman, the congressional delegation provided Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kevin Cramer R-N.D., Amy Klobuchar, D-M.N., Roger Wicker, R-Pass up., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
“I feel Vladimir Putin has produced the major error of his profession in underestimating how courageously the people of Ukraine will combat him if he invades,” Blumenthal instructed reporters afterwards Monday adhering to the meeting with Zelenskyy. “And we will impose crippling economic sanctions, but much more crucial, we will give the people of Ukraine the arms, deadly arms they will need to defend their lives and livelihood.”
The go to arrives times immediately after Ukraine recovered from a massive cyberattack that downed a lot more than 70 governing administration web sites. National Protection Advisor Jake Sullivan instructed CBS on Sunday that the U.S. was still functioning to establish who was driving the attack, but that “this is aspect of the Russian playbook.”
“If it turns out that Russia is pummeling Ukraine with cyberattacks, and if that carries on above the period of time ahead, we will get the job done with our allies on the proper reaction,” he reported.
Cramer mentioned Monday that President Joe Biden is “proper to not hold out for Congressional authorization” as he moves to “establish a set of multilateral sanctions” on Russia, and that extra action from Capitol Hill might be forthcoming.
“My perception is that we will be capable to appear collectively in Congress around the sanctions authority to make sure that President Biden has anything he requirements, and is coordinated with our allies, to provide the crushing established of sanctions in advance of any invasion programs,” Cramer said.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Skip., suggested making use of the Magnitsky Act to sanction “genuine folks who are violating global regulation.”
“There is no issue the aggression has currently started,” Wicker said.