WARSAW, Poland (AP) – A high -level delegation from the U.S. Congress, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, praised the “cruelty” of Ukrainians and made the decision in a face -to -face meeting with their leader in Kiev on the weekend, which is held in secret.
Pelosi, the second highest -ranking president since becoming vice president, is the oldest U.S. lawmaker to visit Ukraine since the Russian war began more than two months ago. Just a few days ago, Russia bombed the Ukrainian capital while the UN Secretary General was present.
Pelosi and half a dozen U.S. lawmakers met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his key aides on Saturday for three hours to express U.S. solidarity with the besieged country and get an initial assessment of its efforts as a new government of Ukraine. . Assistance package by Congress.
“It’s our duty to stay by your side until the fight is over,” Pelosi said in a video posted by Zelensky’s office. “We are on the brink of freedom and your fight is a fight for everyone. Thank you for your fight for freedom ”.
“Welcome everyone,” Zelensky told the delegation.
Pelosi told reporters in Poland on Sunday that the delegation was proud of “Zelensky’s message of solidarity from the United States Congress, a message of gratitude from the American people for their leadership and admiration for the courage of the Ukrainian people.” “On Monday he will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, a NATO ally, in Warsaw.
The delegation’s visit to Kiev was not announced until the party had safely left for Ukraine. No details were released on how they got to the capital and back. A week earlier, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Zelensky had left Poland for Kiev by land to negotiate with Zelensky.
Members of the congressional delegation unanimously praised Ukraine’s defense, its fight against evil, and its long-term military, humanitarian and economic support to the United States.
“It’s a fight for freedom against tyranny,” said Adam Schiff, a member of parliament who heads the House Intelligence Commission.
The trip came two days after U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress for $ 33 billion to bolster Ukraine’s fight against Russia, more than double the $ 13.6 billion in initial aid that was almost out of stock. The event is intended to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that U.S. weapons and other forms of aid will not be lost.
Colorado spokesman Jason Crowe, a veteran and member of the House Intelligence and Armed Services Committee, said he traveled to Ukraine in three directions: “tools, weapons and ammunition”.
“We need to make sure the Ukrainians have what they need to win,” he said. “What we’ve seen over the past few months is their brutality, their strong pride, their ability to fight and their ability to win if they have the support to do so.”
Many U.S. lawmakers travel to the region to help war casualties and strengthen U.S. troops in the wider region. The Pelosi delegation stood for the length of its members.
The trip also featured Pelosi’s status as an ambassador on the world stage. The speaker is known in Europe and abroad, usually leading tourist delegations and maintaining close relations with allies abroad.
While the delegation included all Democrats, the U.S. Congress has made a rare and, so far, long bipartisan decision to support Ukraine when it is at war with Russia. Pelosi called the war a conflict between democracy and autocracy and promised that Washington would stand on Ukraine’s side until it defeated the occupiers.
Pelosi along with the Speaker of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory came into the mix; Massachusetts Representative Jim McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee; Representative. Barbara Lee from California and Bill Keating from Massachusetts, Crow and Schiff.
“This is a time when we support democracy or allow autocracy to work,” Mix said. Crowe said the US is “here to win and we will stay in Ukraine until victory is achieved.”
Schiff, as chairman of the intelligence panel, said he was particularly focused on Ukraine receiving the U.S. intelligence support it needs to “beat Russian forces.”
The delegation’s visit was followed by a visit by several EU officials and European heads of state to show solidarity with Zelenski, which began with a surprise visit by NATO member leaders the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia on 15 March.
Recently, on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Zelensky in Kiev. The missile attack on the capital came just hours after their joint press conference, an attack that the Kiev mayor said Putin gave the “middle finger” to Guterres.
The delegation visited southeastern Poland and then left for the capital. Poland has received more than 3 million refugees from Ukraine since Russia started the war on 24 February.
“We look forward to thanking our allies in Poland for their dedication and humanitarian efforts,” Pelosi said.
McGovern said the Russian war had consequences across Ukraine and exacerbated a food crisis that would be devastating for the world’s poor.
“Putin’s brutal war is no longer just a war against the Ukrainian people,” McGovern said. “It’s also a war against the most vulnerable in the world.”
He added: “I don’t think Putin cares if he’s starving the world.”
Reported by Winfield of Rome, Mascaro from Washington.
The previous version of this story was altered to show that Pelosi was second to the presidency and not third.
Source: Huffpost
