September 22, 2023

Duckworth Statement After Meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—member of the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees—issued the following statement after she and her Senate colleagues met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hear about Ukraine’s ongoing fight against Russia’s outrageous and unprovoked invasion:

“One thing remains clear: Ukraine has to win this war and Russia has to lose it. It was important to get President Zelensky’s readout of Ukraine’s current military operations and hear how the United States must continue to help our partner in the fight of their lives. So long as Ukraine needs our support, the U.S. should not shy away from our role as a global leader in the fight to uphold democracy and the rule of law. A world with a Ukrainian victory is a safer one, and I hope House Republicans will stop holding up the aid needed to help make that happen.”

Duckworth has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in their fight against Russia’s invasion. Duckworth supported the Biden Administration’s decision to provide additional weapons and capabilities to Ukraine, including cluster munitions. As combat Veterans, she and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) penned an op-ed on their support in the New York Times. Additionally, she joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jon Tester (D-MT) and six of her colleagues in introducing the Digital Asset Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act to ensure that Vladimir Putin and Russian elites can’t use digital assets to undermine the international community’s economic sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Duckworth also urged the Biden Administration to accelerate the sale of M1A2 SEPv3 tanks to Poland. The letter asked the Biden Administration to engage with additional NATO allies to determine if the Russian Federation’s brutal act of war requires the U.S to develop and execute any additional sales to strengthen the military capabilities of other NATO members. She called on the Biden Administration to grant Temporary Protected Status to Ukrainians in the U.S. following the Russian military invasion.

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