Sen. Marshall (left) and Sen. Moran (right) pose with a group of Fort Riley soldiers, deployed to Germany on Mar. 22, 2022. (courtesy photo)
Senator Moran with Staff Sergeant First Class Kevin Jensen from Manhattan (left)
and Private First Class Efren Benitez from Maize (right). (Courtesy photo)
Senator Moran speaks with Private First Class Efren Benitez of Maize over lunch. (Courtesy photo)
Sen. Moran (far left) and Senator Marshall (far right) pose with Fort Riley soldiers holding boxes of Hostess Twinkies. Hostess is based out of Emporia, Kan. (courtesy photo)
Sen. Marshall shakes hands with a soldier (Courtesy photo)
Sen. Moran meets with an Army soldier. (courtesy photo)
Sen. Marshall (left) and Sen. Moran (right) pose with a group of Fort Riley soldiers, deployed to Germany on Mar. 22, 2022. (courtesy photo)
Kansas Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran returned from a trip to Eastern Europe with a bipartisan delegation of Congress to assess the situation in Ukraine.
Both called on more to be done in terms of imposing sanctions on Russia, as the one month mark approaches since its invasion of Ukraine. Sen. Marshall contends there is a path to victory for Ukraine, but adds that the U.S. is only doing a fraction of what it could be doing.
“We don’t need to debate it. We don’t need to talk about the pros and the cons. Get them the damn weapons. People will use them. They will fight to the death, but they have to be empowered to do that,” he said.
Sen. Marshall was one of 31 Republicans to oppose a $13.6 billion emergency aid package to Ukraine on March 10 (see below video), arguing that Democrats tied the aid to the Omnibus rather than having a separate bipartisan package.
Both senators called on the Biden administration to meet with their delegation to review what more can be done. Sen. Moran reiterated the need to do more to support the Ukrainian people fighting on the ground.
“The reality is there is not a moment to lose. We are late now. We were late yesterday. In the absence of quick movement, a slow march of bureaucratic policies and efforts does not save lives; it costs lives,” he said.
Sen. Moran went on to say his goal is to provide the Ukrainian people with the tools they need to succeed, not just to survive, but to win the war.
“It is immoral for us to do less. For us to just allow these battles to continue day after day with the death of Ukrainians. There’s a belief by Ukrainians that we are way too slow in providing. That it’s seen by them as promises, but not promises kept,” he said.
Sen. Marshall called on a war tribunal to be held and to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin and his generals accountable.
“I call for the world to cease his assets and use his personal assets to build back Ukraine. I call for all people of the world to stop doing business with Russia — today. We need actions, not words. We need all businesses across the entire world to stop investing and paying for this horrible war,” he said.
The bipartisan delegation met with military leaders from the United States Army Europe-Africa in Wiesbaden, Germany about the U.S.’ and NATO alliances’ commitment to freedom over tyranny.
The delegation of 10 U.S. Congressional officials spent time at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, then went to visit with leaders from the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Poland, participating in a roundtable discussion about efforts to deter further Russian aggression.
They also visited a refugee processing center near the Ukrainian-Polish border, spending the final day with members of Ukrainian civil society, which included a group of passionate women who reportedly urged the U.S. and its allies to send more military and lethal aid. The 10 senators also visited a U.S. Army base in Grafenwohr, Germany, receiving a firsthand briefing of the military mission.
