Biden huddles with group of senators on Ukraine-Russia tensions

by Brett Samuels - 01/19/22 1:45 PM ET

President Biden on Wednesday met virtually with a bipartisan group of eight senators to discuss the latest developments in Ukraine amid concerns about Russia’s military buildup on the country’s border.

Seven of the senators whom Biden spoke with recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reaffirm the United States’s support.

“President Biden and the senators exchanged views on the best ways the United States can continue to work closely with our allies and partners in support of Ukraine, including both ongoing diplomacy to try to resolve the current crisis and deterrence measures,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

“President Biden commended the strong history of support for Ukraine from both sides of the aisle, and agreed to keep working closely with Congress as the Administration prepares to impose significant consequences in response to further Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

The participants in the meeting included Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), all of whom traveled to Ukraine.

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also attended, the White House said.

Psaki said a day earlier that the U.S. believes that Russia could carry out an attack on Ukraine “at any point,” the starkest warning to date from the White House that Moscow could take imminent action.

Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin on a video call in December that Russia would face severe sanctions if it invaded Ukraine and that the U.S. would move to bolster NATO’s eastern flank and increase military aid to Ukraine in the event of an invasion.

U.S. officials last week said they have evidence of Russia laying the groundwork for a false flag operation that could serve as a pretext for invading Ukraine.