Bipartisan lawmakers meet with Zelenskyy in Ukraine

A cadre of bipartisan lawmakers traveled to Ukraine this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid reports that Iran has begun arming Russia with military drones. 

Lawmakers from the House Intelligence Committee met with Zelenskyy on Thursday to discuss the war and ongoing aid efforts. Attending the meeting were Democratic Reps. Jim Himes of Connecticut and Eric Swalwell of California, as well as Republican Mike Turner of Ohio. 

The bipartisan nature of the visit was meant to show continued U.S. support for the Ukraine government and its people as they face a barrage of military attacks from Russia. 

“We appreciate the support from the U.S. Congress, the president of the United States and his administration, and the entire American people,” Zelenskyy says in a video of the meeting shared on social media. 

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Turner, the top Republican on the intelligence committee, is poised to lead the panel next year if the GOP wins control of the House. His presence on the trip comes as some GOP lawmakers have signaled that a Republican Congress would be more hesitant about approving large-scale military and financial aid to Ukraine. 

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“I think people are going to be sitting in a recession, and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Punchbowl News earlier this week.

The comments have raised concerns internationally that the U.S. might curtail its backing of Ukraine just as the war with Russia enters a new phase. Earlier this week, the White House announced that Iranian military personnel has been training Russian troops on how to pilot aerial drones for attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and other installations. 

“They can lie to the world, but they certainly can’t hide the facts, and the fact is this — Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground,” said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.