U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Lansing) met with Ukrainian President Volovymyr Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian military and security officials in Kyiv this weekend as part of a bipartisan Congressional Delegation through the House Armed Services Committee. Slotkin is the first member of the Michigan Congressional Delegation to travel to Ukraine since the war began.
Other members of the delegation included Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.), as well as Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.).
“Just a few days ago, I listened to Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska as she made an emotional plea to the U.S. Congress to continue to help her country,” Slotkin said in a release. “This weekend, I had the chance to travel to Ukraine in a bipartisan delegation from the Armed Services Committee to reiterate to President Zelenskyy, his defense minister, members of Parliament and others that the U.S., our allies, and the American people stand firmly with Ukraine.”
Slotkin said in a release that the delegation saw firsthand what the Ukrainians can do with the weapons and training the U.S. is providing. The delegation visited Irpin, the last town before Kyiv where Ukrainian soldiers held off the Russians, as well as Bucha, where members learned about the atrocities carried out by the Russians over the last 5 months.
“All of these places were key targets for the Russians when they aimed to take Kyiv, and it was only through the sheer will of the Ukrainian people, and support from the outside world, that the Russian attack was repelled,” Slotkin said. “It was incredibly moving to see that kind of determination in the name of patriotism.”
Slotkin explained some of the connections Michigan has with Ukraine.
“Michigan has a special connection to Ukraine, partly because of the large population of Ukrainian Michiganders, and also because we make some of the critical equipment that is now supporting their efforts against Putin’s regime – things like the engines and tracks for armored personnel carriers (APCs). Michigan’s official partner nation is Latvia, where we teach how to use the long-range HIMAR system that Ukrainians say has made such a difference against the Russians.”
The expedited delivery of the HIMARS and other weapons was facilitated by the Ukraine Lend-Lease Act, co-sponsored by Slokin and signed into law on May 9.
“That’s one of the reasons why I was determined to see these weapons in action,” she said. “Given that, I presented the President and other senior leaders challenge coins from the 1st Battalion, 182nd Field Artillery Regiment of the Michigan National Guard – a HIMARS unit specializing in this long-range weapons system. I also handed out model APCs and HIMARS as well as some chocolate covered Michigan cherries.”
The new U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, is also a native Michigander.
“The Ukrainians are fighting for the survival of their country, and seeing their determination in-person was nothing short of awe-inspiring,” Slotkin said. “I know that for some Americans and Michiganders, this conflict has started to fade into the background, but it is critical that we continue to help the Ukrainians, particularly as they move to take back parts of southern Ukraine. Whether you’re a staunch believer in preserving democracy or just want to protect the pocketbooks of the American people, ramping up our support in the near term must be a top priority for the administration, and I will be doing everything I can in Congress to make sure it is.”
Slotkin, a former senior Pentagon official and CIA officer, has introduced a suite of bipartisan legislation to address Putin’s war against Ukraine, including the DICTATOR Act, to investigate whether China is helping Russia evade U.S. sanctions, as well as the American Energy for Europe Act, which would leverage American manufacturing to help wean our European allies off Russian energy resources. Slotkin also led the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, which was signed into law by President Biden on May 9 and is helping to expedite shipments of weapons from the United States to Ukraine.
