Ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) led a Congressional Delegation (CODEL) to Poland and Ukraine from February 19-23 to conduct oversight of U.S. assistance to Ukraine. He was joined by U.S. Representatives Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Max Miller (R-OH), and Keith Self (R-TX). Upon returning, the members released the following statement:
“House Republicans promised the American people we would conduct vigorous oversight of U.S. assistance to Ukraine once in the majority. To that end, our delegation traveled to Poland and Ukraine to get a firsthand perspective of how U.S. assistance is being used to support a Ukrainian victory as soon as possible.”
“We met with the 101st Airborne Division and USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team in Poland, and Embassy Kyiv staff in Ukraine, to deepen our understanding of the transparency and accountability mechanisms the U.S. has in place to track U.S. weapon systems sent to the frontlines and to ensure our non-security assistance reaches its intended beneficiaries. We were encouraged to learn that, to date, no significant acts of fraud or misuse involving U.S. assistance have occurred.”
In our meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his cabinet, we delivered a clear message from Congress and the American people that continued strong support for Ukraine hinges on U.S. assistance being used responsibly. We also expressed frustration at the Biden administration’s unacceptably slow deliveries of critical weapon systems to Ukraine, which has only prolonged this war and its devastation. While the Biden administration ignores Ukrainian pleas for longer-range ATACMS missiles, our delegation expressed unanimous support for their swift delivery with funds already appropriated. President Biden’s message during his visit to Kyiv was ‘we will support you “for as long as it takes”’; our message was ‘with the right weapons, it doesn’t have to take that long.’”
Our delegation was also accompanied by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General on a visit to Bucha, the site of some of Russia’s most unspeakable war crimes. We paid our respects at a mass grave where Russian soldiers had buried dozens of slaughtered Ukrainian civilians. We also met war crimes survivors and heard their horrific accounts of life under Russian occupation. We left determined to support Ukraine’s efforts to pursue accountability for all those responsible for Russia’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other atrocities, including up to the most senior levels in the Kremlin.”
“After departing Ukraine, our CODEL concluded at a Polish training site for Ukrainian soldiers who are being taught how to operate and maintain the Leopard 2 tanks recently pledged by our European allies and Canada. We were inspired by the determination of the Ukrainian soldiers we met to win their fight for independence and freedom. Moreover, we also expressed our gratitude to Poland for exemplifying what true burden sharing should look like, given its immense contributions to Ukraine. With allies like Poland leading the way, Europe’s assistance to Ukraine has grown in recent months, even outpacing the U.S. in economic and humanitarian aid.”
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