Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal met on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who petitioned the lawmakers for more weapons. Blumenthal and Graham have been two of the most ardently pro-Ukraine voices in the US Congress.
According to Zelensky’s office, the Ukrainian leader insisted to the Americans that the military situation in Ukraine is “certainly difficult, yet controlled.” This statement was made despite the fact that Russian and Donbass forces recently pushed Kiev’s military out of the entire Lugansk People’s Republic, and, according to Moscow, inflicted more than 5,000 casualties and destroyed hundreds of tanks and other pieces of military hardware over the last two weeks.
Zelensky called on Graham and Blumenthal to push Washington to supply Ukraine with air defense systems, which the Pentagon says will be sent to Kiev soon. The trio also spoke about Blumenthal and Graham’s efforts to have Congress classify Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, a step which some US allies have balked at. Read more…
