Durbin, Portman, Ukraine Caucus Meet With Members Of The Ukrainian Parliament
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Co-Chairs of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, hosted members of the Ukrainian Parliament to brief members of the Senate Ukraine Caucus on the latest regarding Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and how else the U.S. Senate can support their nation. Ukrainian Parliament members in attendance included Lesia Zaburanna, Yevheniya Kravchuk, Anastasia Radina, and Maria Ionova. Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova and Polish Members of Parliament were also in attendance. The discussion comes one month into Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
“The barbaric actions of Vladimir Putin have forced nearly four million Ukrainians to flee their country,” said Durbin. “The resilience of the Ukrainian people is unparalleled and deserves sustained American support. Today’s meeting reinforced our strong relations and we will continue to work with our European allies to further tighten the economic pressure on Putin, welcome Ukrainian refugees, and much more.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Ukraine parliament today. America is inspired by their courage and the bravery of the Ukrainian people to fight back against Russian aggression,” said Portman. “I continue to call on the administration and encourage our NATO/EU allies to do more quicker by way of stronger sanctions – especially those targeting Russia’s energy sector, which continues to fund Putin’s war machine – and more lethal aid including fighter jets, anti-tank, anti-ship and anti-air weaponry as we work to help Ukraine win this war brought on by unwarranted and illegal Russian aggression.”
Photos of the meeting are available here.
More than 3.8 million Ukrainians have fled their country since February 24. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution cosponsored by Durbin condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal. Last week, the Biden Administration announced another $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance for those affected by Putin’s war in Ukraine, along with plans to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia’s aggression through a full range of legal immigration pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Since January 2021, the Biden Administration has provided more than $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, and the FY22 Omnibus included $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
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