U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) has returned from a trip to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It was Blumenthal’s fourth trip to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.
He said Ukrainian forces have been able to breach key Russian-controlled areas of the country and wants the American people to know that progress on the battlefield is steady.
“Americans ought to be assured, we're getting our money's worth,” Blumenthal said. “We've degraded the Russian Armed Forces by about 50%, cut in half Russian military strength, with an investment of less than 3% of our annual military budget.”
“Americans should be assured there has been no corruption, no misappropriation or divergence in the use of American arms,” he added.
Blumenthal called on his colleagues in the U.S. Congress to continue supporting the war with a $24 billion aid package.
They will vote on the aid when they return from August recess.
“It should be passed with bipartisan support,” Blumenthal said. “This trip was bipartisan, support for Ukraine should be bipartisan, votes on supplemental now pending $24 billion should be bipartisan as well, because Putin cannot win this war.”
Blumenthal also called for more long range artillery, drones and armored vehicles to be sent to Ukraine.
