Fitzpatrick returns from Ukraine, Poland; wants to see more action by U.S. after speaking with Zelensky
After meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and viewing firsthand the refugee crisis created by the Russian invasion last weekend, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said the United States needs to assist Ukraine in establishing a no-fly zone over its country and do more to help that young country maintain its freedom.
"I have continuously called for the U.S. and our NATO allies to continue to work in lockstep to achieve the following: establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine immediately, continue to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive aid, admit Ukraine into NATO and the EU, impose harsher sanctions and restrictions on Russia’s energy sector, and establish an international tribunal to prosecute (Russian President Vladimir) Putin for war crimes and crimes against humanity," the Bucks County congressman said Friday in written responses to questions posed following his trip to the war zone.
"Putin is a murderous war criminal; he has deliberately targeted civilians, including bombing a maternity and children’s hospital this week. The international community must hold him accountable for his heinous war crimes and blatant violation of international humanitarian law against innocent civilians, mothers, and children."
Fitzpatrick, who represents all of Bucks County and a small portion of Eastern Montgomery County, visited Ukraine and Poland last weekend with five other members of Congress to see the situation in Eastern Europe following Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine that started in late February.
In a video interview earlier this week with CBS News, Fitzpatrick said it was heartbreaking to watch women and children have to say goodbye to their husbands and fathers as healthy men between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to stay in Ukraine and fight against the Russian invasion in their homeland.
In speaking with Zelensky, Fitzpatrick said the Ukrainian president's "largest ask of Ukraine’s allies was additional defensive aid, particularly airpower, so that they can secure their airspace."
"While the Stinger and Javelin missiles we have provided thus far have been incredibly effective in deterring Russian forces, Ukraine needs fighter jets to defend their land more effectively. I strongly urge the Administration to expeditiously approve the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine," Fitzpatrick said.
MiG-29s are Russian made planes that the Ukrainian pilots know how to fly that Poland offered to give to Ukraine through American air bases. But the United States has not accepted that role in the transfer for fear of an expansion of the war to involve the United States and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in direct conflict with Russia.
"Putin has rejected diplomacy and chosen the path of brutal, senseless war with our friend and ally, Ukraine. History will look to this very moment as pivotal to the cause of freedom across the globe," he said in an email Friday.
President Joe Biden cut off the United States' importing of Russian energy last week, just as Fitzpatrick was introducing the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act legislation in the House to do the same. The Republican congressman said he was glad the Democratic administration took action and that Congress is approaching the Ukrainian situation in a bipartisan, bicameral way.
"The obvious next step forward is to ramp up domestic energy production to reclaim our energy independence, bolster our national security, and replace the roughly 200,000 barrels of oil we import from Russia a day with American energy," he said.
He also wants more action to address the needs of Ukraine's refugees.
His office is looking into the case of a 16-year-old Ukrainian boy, Maksym, who has been adopted by a Lower Southampton couple, Dmitriy and Maryana Kravchenko, but who can't leave Ukraine for 30 days, according to that country's international adoption laws. The congressman's office is working with the State Department on the case but said "this is a complicated matter in light of current immigration laws and the ongoing war affecting the Ukrainian judicial courts, but our office is doing everything we can to ensure the safety of their son."
More: Fitzpatrick to go to Ukraine border: 'We're just horrified at the images'
Fitzpatrick, who has been in Congress since 2017 and plans to run for re-election to his House seat, previously worked in Ukraine as an FBI agent and now serves as co-chair of the House's Ukrainian Caucus as well as a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He concluded his comments on his trip by saying he applaud the coordinated efforts by the U.S. and our allies to impose crippling sanctions against Russia, including banning Russian energy imports, and limiting Russian access to the SWIFT global interbank payments system.
More: Fitzpatrick on Ukraine: US needs to cut imports of Russian fuel; do more to help Ukrainians
"But further action is needed," he said. "Innocent people are dying in Ukraine as we speak, and the security and stability of the entire world are on the line.”
To contact Peg Quann, email mquann@couriertimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Fitzpatrick returns from Ukraine, Poland; wants to see more action by U.S. after speaking with Zelensky
