A bipartisan group of senators is on its way to Ukraine to meet with the country’s president amid a standoff with Russia.
Republican Sens. Rob Portman, Kevin Cramer, and Roger Wicker are traveling with Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy, Amy Klobuchar, and Richard Blumental. They will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials on Monday.
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The meeting comes at a time of heightened tension between Russia, which has amassed a large military presence on the border with Ukraine, and the United States. Russia’s military buildup has been ongoing for weeks.
The senators are going to “reaffirm the U.S.’s commitment to Ukraine, which continues to face an increasingly belligerent Russia,” according to a joint press release.
“I am proud to join my colleagues on this important trip to Ukraine,” Portman explained. “Ukraine continues to defend its territorial integrity against an increasingly aggressive Russia, while also striving to enact critical domestic reforms to solidify its democracy — it is more important than ever that the U.S. support Ukraine in its efforts. I look forward to reaffirming this commitment during our upcoming discussions with senior Ukrainian officials.”
Russian and U.S. leaders met multiple times last week over the situation. Russia wants NATO to stay out of Ukraine and other nations formerly a part of the Soviet Union, while the U.S. is hoping to avoid conflict and an invasion, though both sides have balked at the other’s demands.
The U.S. has seen indications that Russia could carry out a “false flag operation” in eastern Ukraine to justify an invasion, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki made similar comments, saying Moscow is preparing to “have the option of fabricating a pretext for invasion” by conducting “sabotage activities and information operations.” They are also prepping to accuse Ukraine of “preparing an imminent attack” against Russian forces.
Their comments came hours after several Ukrainian government websites were hit by a cyberattack.
“According to an investigation by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, the first data suggests that the attack was carried out by the Russian Federation,” the Ukrainian Information Ministry said in a statement. “This is not the first time or even the second time that Ukrainian Internet resources have been attacked since the beginning of the Russian military aggression.“
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The U.S. “is not at the point of attribution right now” as it relates to the attack, Kirby said on Friday, though he also noted it “is a piece of the same kind of playbook we’ve seen from Russia in the past.”
Other lawmakers told the Washington Examiner previously that Russian forces could be ready to launch an assault on Ukraine at any moment, while a senior Russian official made a threat of war last week if U.S. and Western European leaders continue to resist their demands.
