Maine Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Senate’s Intelligence and Appropriations Committees, was one of four Republicans to visit Kyiv over the weekend and meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and then meet leaders of Finland and Sweden in Helsinki.

After returning to Washington on Monday night, Collins talked to WMTW political reporter Phil Hirschkorn on Tuesday about her trip.

PHIL HIRSCHKORN, WMTW:

“What is your assessment, Senator, of the state of the Ukrainian resistance, and what did you make of meeting President Zelenskyy personally and his handling of the conflict at this point in time?”

SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS:

“President Zelenskyy greeted us very warmly, and we spent two hours over a working lunch with him talking about the war and what he needed to succeed. I am so impressed and inspired by him. All of us have heard his speeches on TV. To meet him in person only reinforced the impression of a strong leader who has united his people against this brutal Russian aggression that is completely unjustified. He really is impressive. We talked about the ports. I asked him, because I’m aware they need to ship their grain out to prevent hunger in parts of the world and also to bring the income to the Ukrainian economy, and he explained the challenge of needing more heavy artillery and weapons, like the Neptune weapons, which they used to take out the flagship of the Russian fleet, and he made an urgent plea for both humanitarian and military assistance, which we’re considering right now on the Senate floor. But we’ve got to pass it quickly. Every day, every hour, every moment that we delay, more people die in Ukraine.”

PHIL HIRSCHKORN, WMTW:

“The $40 billion that you are referring to obviously, expected to pass by tomorrow, Republican Leader McConnell called this latest appropriation – it’s not the first, and I’m sure it won’t be the last – ‘tools for self-defense.’ That’s really been our policy – tools but not U.S. troops. Did you see any proof overseas that that’s actually working?”

SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS:

“I did, indeed, and what’s also really interesting is Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has produced exactly the opposite result of what he wanted. He claimed to invade Ukraine, because it was getting too close to the West, and he thought he would be greeted enthusiastically. Instead, this has caused -- his invasion and brutal tactics have caused -- even the Russian portions of Ukraine to embrace their Ukrainian identity. Perhaps one of the most interesting consequences that Putin did not welcome nor anticipate were the decisions made by Sweden and Finland to apply for NATO [membership]. We met with the prime ministers of both countries and the Finnish president, and they all told us, Sweden’s been neutral for 200 years. But as the Swedish prime minster said, February 24^th, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine, changed everything for them. And the Finns share an 835-mile border with Russia, and so they have reason for great concern too. Both of them will add a lot to the Western defensive alliance. The Finns, in particular, have a very strong and capable military, and both countries are very expert with technology and are relatively wealthy countries, so they can afford up their [military] spending to 2% [of GDP], as required by NATO. So, I welcome them as members of NATO, and I hope NATO’s 30 members will embrace their membership.”

PHIL HIRSCHKORN, WMTW:

“Do you think Russia should be at this point labeled by the U.S. government ‘a terrorist state,’ especially as more evidence of civilian atrocities – I guess the latest now is in the city of Kharkiv – are emerging? And you do foresee a future where perhaps President Putin is personally charged by an international war crimes tribunal?”

SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS:

“Well, those are great questions, and they are issues that President Zelenskyy brought up with us. He very much wants the United States to list Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and Putin tried as a war criminal. There’s no doubt that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine – the deliberate bombing of a maternity hospital, health clinics, schools, shelters, refugees that are trying to evacuate and were promised safe passage. There’s just no doubt. The targeting of civilians’ housing. All of that violates the laws of war. So, I hope that Putin will be considered a war criminal. He has clearly ordered acts that, in my view, qualify. Obviously, it’s a long, elaborate process. As far as listing Russia as a terrorist state, I think that’s something that the Biden Administration should consider. I don’t know the process for that, the specific steps that have to be taken, but it certainly should be considered, and it was the specific request of President Zelenskyy. By the way, I think our visit was really important to him. It showed him that there was bipartisan support for additional aid, since [Democratic House] Speaker Pelosi had visited recently, and now you had a delegation of high-ranking Republicans show this was a bipartisan effort.”

PHIL HIRSCHKORN, WMTW:

“Since your last visit, there has been a substantial worsening of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Any thoughts on that or any final thoughts about your most recent trip?”

SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS:

“There has been worsening of the refugee crisis. More than three million Ukrainians have left the country, and about seven to eight million are displaced internally, because their homes have been bombed, or there’s no infrastructure, there’s no water, there’s no electricity, and so, they are enduring tremendous hardship. There’s no doubt about it, which is why that humanitarian aid is important as well and something this package would provide. I want to make sure Mainers know how grateful the Ukrainians are for American assistance. It wasn’t just the president’s personal expression of gratitude for our aid and the aid from other of our allies. But I had a woman come up to me and see the Ukrainian-American flag pin that I’ve been wearing virtually every day for the last couple of months, and she pointed to it, and she gave me a big, hug and said, ‘Thank you.’ She didn’t speak much English, but then tears filled her eyes, and they were tears of gratitude, to make the sign of the cross and offered up a prayer, and that was just so moving to me. So, the Ukrainian people, not just their leaders, know that we’re providing them with the help that they need to survive, and I hope, win this horrible war with Russia.”