©Reuters. US Representatives Mike Turner (R-OH), French Hill (R-AR), Jason Crow (D-CO), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) attend a joint press conference, amid Russia’s attack to Ukraine, in Kiev, Ukraine, February 9, 2024. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
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By Max Hunder
KIEV (Reuters) – A bipartisan delegation of U.S. Congress members traveled to Kiev on Friday to meet with Ukraine’s president and try to assure him that they would do their part to push crucial and stalled legislation through the House of Representatives on military aid.
The delegation consisted of four members of the House Intelligence Committee: Republicans Mike Turner and French Hill, along with Democrats Jason Crow and Abigail Spanberger.
“The United States is working diligently in the House of Representatives and the Senate to secure the necessary funding in 2024,” Turner told reporters at a news conference before the delegation left to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest provider of military assistance as Kiev fights Russia’s nearly two-year invasion, but that aid is now on hold as Congress debates a bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The $95.34 billion bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday after Republicans blocked earlier compromise legislation.
“This year it was delayed over the course of not only a presidential election year, but also controversies in the House over policy,” Hill said.
The parliamentarians also met with officials from the SBU and GUR intelligence services, the US ambassador to Kiev said.
“We stand with Ukraine not only because we understand that standing up for freedom and democracy in the world is an American value, but we stand with Ukraine because it is also in America’s interest to do so,” Crow said.