Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital city of Kyiv on Thursday, reportedly marking the first bipartisan delegation to visit Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion of the neighboring country.
"Bicameral and bipartisan support is really important for Ukraine. We feel it, we feel this unity," Zelenskyy said, according to a readout from his office.
Zelenskyy used his in-person time with the senators to appeal for more air-systems assistance, which Zelenskyy says would be critical in helping Ukrainian children return to school by Sept. 1.
Last month, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted a resolution, at the behest of Graham, calling on the State Department to officially designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
That item was also discussed by Graham, Blumenthal, and Zelenskyy, according to the office readout.
Citing a report from Zelenskyy's office, via RT.com, the Ukrainian leader also acknowledged the military situation in Ukraine is "certainly difficult, yet controlled."
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the United States has already sent $5.6 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine under the Biden administration's watch.
That includes the White House's Wednesday announcement of $1 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine.
According to Politico, Graham and Blumenthal might be on opposing sides of the political aisle, but they've also traveled together in the past, particularly involving Senate Judiciary Committee matters.
Citing the same Politico story, Graham plans to challenge the recent grand-jury subpoena from Georgia state officials, regarding the case of former President Donald Trump and alleged fraud committed after the 2020 election.
Graham's lawyers say the senator is "neither a subject nor a target of the investigation, simply a witness."
Since the Russia-Ukraine war launched on Feb. 24, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho — the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — have led delegations to visit Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.