A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is traveling to Eastern Europe, including a stop in Kyiv, Ukraine, amid a possible Russian invasion.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks is leading the delegation, which was announced on Tuesday, and he’s being joined by Reps. David Cicilline, Ami Bera, Colin Allred, Chrissy Houlahan, Mark Green, Tom Malinowski, Sara Jacobs, August Plunger, Mikie Sherill, and Victoria Spartz.
The group is planning on meeting with representatives from NATO, the European Union, and NATO and EU member states. It will discuss Russian aggression toward Ukraine.
Lawmakers will also meet with senior Ukrainian officials to discuss “the security situation and reinforce U.S. support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to a statement.
ZELENSKY ‘DIDN’T SHY AWAY FROM ASKING FOR MORE’ FROM US, SENATOR SAYS
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered 100,000 troops to reposition along the Ukrainian border weeks ago, stirring up fears of a possible invasion, similar to the 2014 invasion of Crimea. The White House and various government officials have said in recent days that the threat is escalating.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that Russian military aggression could “come at any time,” and that they are “prepared in any moment to take military action,” while Pentagon spokesman John Kirby announced the same day that 8,500 troops were put on “heightened alert” for a possible deployment.
“Secretary Austin has placed a range of units in the United States on a heightened preparedness to deploy which increases our readiness to provide forces if NATO should activate the [NATO Response Force] or if other situations develop, all told the number of forces that the Secretary has placed on heightened alert comes up to about 8500 personnel,” Kirby explained.
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Last weekend, Secretary of State Antony Blinken ordered “eligible family members” of U.S. diplomats in Kyiv to leave the country and granted permission for “non-emergency U.S. government employees” to depart if they so choose. Around the same time, British officials publicly revealed that they have intelligence that purports to show that Putin initially planned to oust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A bipartisan group of senators visited Ukraine last week and met with Zelensky, who expressed gratitude for the U.S.’s support but “didn’t shy away from asking for more,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, who was on the trip, told the Washington Examiner.
