Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer is visiting Ukraine in an attempt to convince President Vladimir Zelensky and other officials that Congress will provide another $60 billion US aid package, even though it is stalled in the US House, according to The Washington Times.
“I feel I have to be there because it’s so crucial. We are right at a vortex, a critical turning point in the whole West. And if we abandon Ukraine, the consequences for America are severe.”
Zelensky argued the previous day that delays in aid from the United States and other Western countries were creating an opportunity for Russia to make gains on the battlefield as Ukrainian forces dangerously ran out of ammunition and weapons.
Lawmakers from both parties travelled to Europe last week to pledge that the US would not abandon Ukraine and other European allies. The Senate passed a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan last week, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has yet to advance a plan to pass it in the House.
Schumer is currently in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where he and four other Democratic senators are expected to meet with Zelensky and other senior officials. He will be joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Jack Reed of Rhode Island (the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee).
The visit took place days after senators and House lawmakers from both parties travelled to the Munich Security Conference to try to reassure European leaders about US aid. The conference coincided with Ukraine’s withdrawal of troops from the eastern city of Avdiivka after months of intense fighting.
House Republicans suggested possible ways to expedite the aid, including by reducing it, but no plan has yet emerged. Republicans who oppose the aid argue the money would be better spent in the US and that it should be combined with legislation aimed at reducing the record number of border crossings at the southern border.
Sen. James David Vance, an Ohio Republican, went to the Munich conference to outline his position. He responded to Zelensky’s calls, stating that additional money would not “fundamentally change the reality.”
Can we send the level of weaponry we’ve sent for the last 18 months? We simply cannot. No matter how many checks the US Congress writes, we are limited there.
Schumer claimed he planned to tell Zelensky and other officials that he would push the House to take action and that “they shouldn’t give up and we’re not giving up.” He also voiced hope to gather new details during the trip that would help convince wavering lawmakers.
“They [Ukrainians] are hurting. And I think by us being there, we’re giving them strength and giving them hope that America is still fighting for them.”
