Newsman: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a small group of Republican senators has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
“The visit of the U.S. Senate delegation with the leader of the Republican minority in the upper house of Congress, Mitchell McConnell, is a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine from the United States Congress, as well as from the American people,” Zelenskyy wrote on his official Telegram channel, alongside a video of him meeting and shaking hands with the senators. “Thank you for your leadership in helping us fight not only for our country, but also for democratic values and freedoms. We greatly appreciate it.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who led a delegation of Senate Republicans to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday said he expected the Senate to approve a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday.
McConnell said he supported adding Russia to the list of state sponsors of terrorism and would back holding a vote on the issue, but urged President Biden to do it on his own.
Speaking from Stockholm, McConnell also said he supported Finland and Sweden joining NATO: “I think the United States ought to be first in line to ratify the treaty for both these countries to join.”
McConnell pushed back on those in his party who were arguing that the U.S. should not be spending billions to send weapons and security assistance to Ukraine.
McConnell said aid to Ukraine is “in America’s interest.” He added, “This is not some handout. This is to prevent a ruthless thug from beginning a march through Europe, and the first place to stop him is in Ukraine, and that’s what we’re determined to do.”
He also responded to some GOP figures who have criticized the current U.S. role in Ukraine. “There have always been isolationist voices in the Republican Party, and there were prior to World War II, and that’s perfectly alright,” McConnell said. “This is a debate worth having. It’s an important subject. And I think one of the lessons we learned from World War II is not standing up to aggression early. It’s a huge mistake.”
In terms of those on the political right saying the U.S. should focus resources on the southern border, McConnell said, it’s not “an either/or proposition.”
McConnell said there was no way to know how long the $40 billion package would last, but said he expected it to provide support for a “significant period of time.” The Biden administration first pitched its version of the aid package, which was initially smaller, to last through the current fiscal year ending on Sept. 30.
Mitch McConnell said he planned to give President Biden a rundown on his trip when he returned to the U.S.
It’s unclear whether the meeting took place Saturday morning or if the delegation is still there.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, John Cornyn of Texas and John Barrasso of Wyoming joined McConnell in Kyiv.
Ukraine has made progress in retaking areas formerly held by Russian forces, but the length of the Russia’s war will depend on the assistance offered by Ukrainian allies, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Friday..
Although Ukrainians are doing everything they can to resist and drive out Russia, “no one today can predict how long this war will last,” Zelenskyy said. “This will depend, unfortunately, not only on our people, who are already giving their maximum,” he said. “This will depend on our partners, on European countries, on the entire free world.
