The top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made a secret visit to Kyiv over the weekend and met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I’ve been in many war zones, but I’ve never been to one where I’ve seen people rebuilding as the war continues,” Senator Jim Risch said after his visit.
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“The Ukrainian people are incredibly resilient, endlessly adaptable, and courageously willing to fight. We cannot let them down,” Risch said in a statement from his office.
Risch also visited Irpin and Hostomel, where he saw and heard from locals about the atrocities and destruction committed by Russia in Ukraine.
While there is a wide split between Republicans and Democrats inside the Senate and Congress, Risch and the chairman of the SFRC, Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, have seen eye to eye on Ukraine.
They have called for more military assistance to Ukraine as it continues to fend off Vladimir Putin’s efforts to capture the capital and restore Russian influence inside the country.
After his visit, Risch said Ukraine can win the war, “but only if we help get it what it needs, before it needs it.”
The US senator said the world could not stand by and watch. “Ukraine must win this fight.”
Read more: US finalizing medium- and long-range air-defense systems for Ukraine: White House
