U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said it’s crucial that the United States send more weapons to Ukraine as the country fights back against the Russian invasion. She was among a bipartisan group of senators who traveled to Poland and Germany over the weekend to meet with military leaders and Ukrainian refugees.
She wants tougher sanctions on Russia, and called President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for bombing schools and hospitals.
“The most important takeaway that I had from this trip was the deep level of desperation and urgency from the Ukrainian people, what they are feeling and what they are facing,” Gillibrand said at a news conference Monday.
Gillibrand, a member of the Armed Services Committee, stressed that the role of the U.S. military right now is “to assure our allies that we are committed to the region and to deter Russian actions that widen the conflict.”
The call for more weapons comes after President Joe Biden signed off last week on a $13 billion spending package to deliver military and humanitarian support to Ukraine.
Gillibrand also visited a refugee processing center near the Ukrainian-Polish border where humanitarian organizations, including volunteers from World Central Kitchen, are working with the Polish military and government to care for Ukrainians who fled their homes.
