Sen. Richard Blumenthal joins bipartisan group on secret trip to Ukraine
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Monday the war in Ukraine is "at a turning point" and it is essential for the U.S. to increase aid.
The Connecticut senator joined a bipartisan group of senators who secretly traveled to Ukraine over the weekend.
"We cannot allow Ukrainians to bleed to death, or starve and freeze to defeat," said Blumenthal.
Blumenthal, joined by Ukrainian Americans, spoke in Hartford after his weekend trip to Kyiv, where he and others, including Sen. Lindsay Graham, traveled to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"He's very clear-eyed about this war, but he's also deeply emotional about the losses that his country has suffered. Tears come to his eyes when he talks about the deaths and injuries," said Blumenthal.
Blumenthal said Ukraine needs western tanks, armored vehicles and weapons systems to counter an expected Russian surge as the Feb. 24 one-year anniversary approaches.
Zelenskyy himself made the pitch for more aid to Congress in December and found some legislators hesitant to go beyond the $50 billion already committed.
"Your money is not charity," Zelenskyy told Congress.
"We're not asking for a blank check. We're asking for a big check, but with accountability and oversight," said Blumenthal.
Andrij Dobriansky, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, sensed momentum for Ukraine as the invasion's anniversary nears.
"Russia wants the world to be tired and not help Ukraine. But the world is getting tired in the way of, 'OK, we've gone through this long enough. We're now going to first supply Ukraine with the right weapons and secondly we're going to punish Russia more and more until it stops doing all of this,'" said Dobriansky.
Blumenthal said he sensed Ukrainian resolve is strong and it's in U.S. interests to supply what they need to win.
