U.S. National Security Advisor Said In “Last Several Months” Members Of Congress, Democrats And Republicans, Have Visited Kyiv. He Was Not Accurate. But, Does It Matter?
U.S. National Security Advisor Said In “Last Several Months” Members Of Congress, Democrats And Republican, Have Visited Kyiv.
He Was Not Accurate.
The Word “Several” Is Typically Defined As Meaning Three.
The following are the most recent visits to Ukraine by members of the 118th United States Congress:
6 May 2023 (Kyiv)- Steve Cohen (D- Tennessee), Joe Wilson (R- South Carolina), Victoria Spartz R- Ohio), members of the United States House of Representatives
3 April 2023 (Kyiv)- Michael Turner (R- Ohio), Chairman of the Intelligence Committee; Christopher Stewart (R- Utah); Richard McCormick (R- Georgia); Darin LaHood (R- Illinois), members of the United States House of Representatives
23 August 2023 (Kyiv)- Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), members of the United States Senate
28 May 2023 (Kyiv)- Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina), United States Senate
The White House
Washington DC
15 September 2023
PRESS BRIEFING BY PRESS SECRETARY KARINE JEAN-PIERRE AND NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR JAKE SULLIVAN
excerpts
Q Jake, what is the message that the White House believes that President Zelenskyy needs to deliver to Congress, particularly Republicans in the House, while he's in town to convince them to continue supporting U.S. military assistance to Ukraine?
MR. SULLIVAN: Frankly, I don't believe President Zelenskyy needs our advice to be an advocate for what Ukraine needs. He has proven over the course of the past 18, 19 months that there is no better advocate for his country, for his people, and for the urgent and continuing need for countries like the United States and our allies and partners to step up to provide the necessary tools and resources that Ukraine needs to be able to effectively defend itself. He will come do that this time, as he has done before. He's had the opportunity in Kyiv over the course of the past several months to host both Democrats and Republicans from both the House and the Senate. So, he is very much abreast of the perspective and the discussions that are taking place up on Capitol Hill. And I think he's looking forward to the opportunity not just to see President Biden here at the White House, but also to see congressional leaders from both parties to make the case that the United States has been a great friend and partner to Ukraine throughout this entire brutal war and that United States should continue to do that. We have confidence that there will be bipartisan support for this. I think President Zelenskyy does as well. And he wants to build momentum towards that as we head to the end of the month.
Q And I don’t know if you can say this, but can you talk -- do you anticipate that Zelenskyy will be meeting with McCarthy and Republican leaders as well on this trip, on this visit?
MR. SULLIVAN: I -- it's not for me to announce his meetings up on the Hill. I will say that we have every expectation that he will meet with both Democrats and Republicans from both branches of government on the Hill. What the nature of those meetings will be, who exactly will be in them, I will leave it to the leaders in the House and the Senate to -- to make their announcements.
MR. SULLIVAN: Last week, I had the chance to sit with the leadership -- Democratic and Republican -- in the Senate, the leadership and the chairs and rankings of the major national security committee -- committees. Yesterday, I had the chance to sit with the Democratic and Republican leadership in the House and the chairs and ranking members of the -- of the key committees. And I've got to say, in those conversations, I felt the basic vibe, so to speak -- the idea that the United States needs to come together on a bipartisan basis to support Ukraine -- felt as strong as it did a year ago on both sides of the aisle. But, of course, I acknowledge that there's a difference between this Congress and the last Congress. And we'll have to contend with that as we go through the discussions that will continue in the days ahead on how to get Ukraine the resources it needs.
Links To Related Analyses
Within the 118th United States Congress, since 24 February 2022, 17% of the United States Senate have visited Ukraine and 2.9% of the United States House of Representatives have visited Ukraine.
Thus, 8.0% of the members of the 118th United States Congress having visited Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
118th United States Congress (3 January 2023 to 3 January 2025)
United States House Of Representatives
(435 Members- 222 Republicans, 213 Democrats)
Visited Ukraine Since 24 February 2022
Democrat- 12
Republican- 14
Adam Schiff (D- California)
Adam Smith (D-Washington)
Barbara Lee (D- California)
Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania)
Christopher Stewart (R- Utah)
Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas)
Darin LaHood (R- Illinois)
Darrell Issa (R-California)
Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan)
Gregory Meeks (D- New York)
Jake Ellzey (R-Texas)
James McGovern (D- Massachusetts)
Jason Crow (D- Colorado)
Joe Wilson (R- South Carolina)
Keith Self (R-Texas)
Max Miller (R-Ohio)
Michael McCaul (R-Texas)
Michael Turner (R- Ohio)
Mike Quigley (D-Illinois)
Mike Waltz (R-Florida)
Mikie Sherrill (D- New Jersey)
Nancy Pelosi (D- California)
Richard McCormick (R- Georgia)
Steve Cohen (D- Tennessee)
Victoria Spartz (R- Indiana)
William Keating (D- Massachusetts)
6 May 2023 (Kyiv)- Steve Cohen (D- Tennessee), Joe Wilson (R- South Carolina), Victoria Spartz R- Ohio), members of the United States House of Representatives
3 April 2023 (Kyiv)- Michael Turner (R- Ohio), Chairman of the Intelligence Committee; Christopher Stewart (R- Utah); Richard McCormick (R- Georgia); Darin LaHood (R- Illinois), members of the United States House of Representatives
21 February 2022 (Kyiv)- Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; Darrell Issa (R-California), Keith Self (R-Texas), Max Miller (R-Ohio), Jake Ellzey (R-Texas), members of the United States House of Representatives
23 July 2022 (Kyiv)- Mikie Sherrill (D- New Jersey), Adam Smith (D-Washington), Chairman of Armed Services Committee, Mike Waltz (R-Florida), Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), Mike Quigley (D-Illinois), members of the United States House of Representatives
4 June 2022 (Kyiv)- Victoria Spartz (R- Indiana), United States House of Representatives
24 May 2022 (Kyiv)- Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), United States House of Representatives
30 April 2022 (Kyiv)- Nancy Pelosi (D- California), Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; Gregory Meeks (D- New York), Adam Schiff (D- California), James McGovern (D- Massachusetts), Jason Crow (D- Colorado), Barbara Lee (D- California), William Keating (D- Massachusetts)
14 April 2022 (Kyiv)- Victoria Spartz (R- Indiana)
118th United States Congress (3 January 2023 to 3 January 2025)
United States Senate
(100 Members- 48 Democrats, 3 Independents (all caucus with Democrats), 49 Republicans)
Visited Ukraine Since 24 February 2022
Democrat- 8
Independent- 1
Republican- 8
Amy Klobuchar (D- Minnesota)
Angus King (I- Maine)
Christopher Coons (D- Delaware)
Elizabeth Warren (D- Massachusetts)
Jack Reed (D- Rhode Island)
James Risch (R- Idaho)
John Barrasso (R-Wyoming)
John Cornyn (R-Texas)
Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina)- Visited Four Times 2022/2023
Lisa Murkowski (R- Alaska)
Mark Kelly (D- Arizona)
Joe Manchin (D- West Virginia)
Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)
Richard Blumenthal (D- Connecticut)- Visited Three Times 2022/2023
Rob Portman (R- Ohio)- Visited Twice 2022; Retired
Sheldon Whitehouse (D- Rhode Island)
Steven Daines (R- Montana)
Susan Collins (R-Maine)
23 August 2023 (Kyiv)- Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), members of the United States Senate
28 May 2023 (Kyiv)- Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina), United States Senate
12 April 2023 (Kyiv)-Mark Kelly (D- Arizona), Lisa Murkowski (R- Alaska), Joe Manchin (D- West Virginia), members of the United States Senate
20 January 2023 (Kyiv)- Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina), Richard Blumenthal (D- Connecticut), Sheldon Whitehouse (D- Rhode Island), members of the United States Senate
6 January 2023 (Kyiv)- Jack Reed (D- Rhode Island), Angus King (I- Maine), members of the United States Senate
3 November 2022 (Kyiv)- Christopher Coons (D- Delaware), Robert Portman (R- Ohio; retiring; second visit), members of the United States Senate
31 August 2022 (Kyiv)- Amy Klobuchar (D- Minnesota), Rob Portman (R- Ohio), members of the United States Senate
7 July 2022 (Kyiv)- Richard Blumenthal (D- Connecticut) and Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina), members of the United States Senate
27 June 2022 (Kyiv)- James Risch (R- Idaho), the ranking minority member of the United Sates Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
30 May 2022- (crossed into Ukraine at border with Moldova) Rob Portman (R- Ohio), United States Senate
14 May 2022 (Kyiv)- Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Minority Leader of the United States Senate; Susan Collins (R-Maine), United States Senate; John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), United States Senate; John Cornyn (R-Texas), United States Senate
14 April 2022 (Kyiv)- Steven Daines (R- Montana), United States Senate
War Timeline
On 24 February 2022, the armed forces of the Russian Federation invaded and further invaded the territory of Ukraine in what Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation (2000-2008 and 2012- ), defined as a Special Military Operation [SMO] then on 22 December 2022 he redefined as a war. The initial invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation was in part from the territory of Belarus.
The war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine did not commence on 24 February 2022. The roots began their trajectories on 20 February 2014 when the armed forces of the Russian Federation invaded the Crimean Peninsula and the area known as the Donbas Region (Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast).