TOLEDO, Ohio — U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur was among the select group of lawmakers on a call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
Rep. Kaptur is the co-founder and co-chair of the Ukraine caucus.
In the call, Zelensky pleaded with congress to give more support to the country in its fight with Russia, something Kaptur is in favor of.
However, Kaptur expressed concern that any military or humanitarian aid may not make its way into Ukraine after Putin works to close all ways in and out of the country.
"We're very worried about to how to get in humanitarian items to Ukraine. In addition to that, he asked for additional military equipment. The United States has been a firm supporter of Ukraine," said Kaptur.
Kaptur released a statement earlier in the day which read in part: "As Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, I will do everything in my power to support Ukraine in its battle against tyranny. From lethal weaponry and planes, to vital humanitarian aid – the Free World must deliver for Ukraine in its time of need."
Also on the call was Ohio Senator Rob Portman. The Republican Senator argued for air support in Ukraine, while pushing for steeper punishments for Russian elites.
"I commend the administration sanctioning of Russian oligarchs and wealthy citizens but we need to do more. We need to move from freezing assets to seizing assets," Portman said at a pro-Ukraine demonstration held near the White House.
Kaptur did express hope that the longer the conflict goes on, the more cooperative Russia will be in future talks.
"Putin will come to understand the will of the Ukrainian people to be free," said Kaptur.
Congressperson Kaptur will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. at One Maritime Plaza to highlight opportunities for the public to support humanitarian relief for Ukraine.
Representative Marcy Kaptur's complete statement:
“Members of the House and Senate had the privilege of hearing directly from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine confronts Vladimir Putin and his butchering of innocent men, women, and children,” said Rep. Kaptur. “The Ukrainian military and people are demonstrating raw courage in the face of Putin’s brutal onslaught. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, I will do everything in my power to support Ukraine in its battle against tyranny. From lethal weaponry and planes to vital humanitarian aid – the Free World must deliver for Ukraine in its time of need. The United States Congress has always been a friend and partner to Ukraine, and we must work together now as Liberty’s resilience is tested by Putin’s murderous wrath.”
Senator Rob Portman's complete statement at Sunday's rally:
“Andy, Yalu! Thank you for your leadership of the Ukrainian Congress and helping to organized this great gathering today, thank you for your friendship and most importantly thank you for your passionate advocacy for Ukraine, not just today, but over the decades.
“I see some of these signs out here and the signs make the point that Ukraine made a decision eight years ago to get out from under the thumb of Russia and become an independent, sovereign country. They made a decision to be like us. The Euromaidan was about freedom, it was about prosperity and free enterprise. Ultimately, it was about letting them chart their own course, right? That’s why Putin is so upset about Ukraine. It’s not just about NATO, it’s about a country that has chosen to be free and a country, therefore, that offends Russia because they are concerned that Russians will look across the border and see their neighbors and often their family and say, “why can’t we live like that?” That’s why we are here, to ensure they can live like that, to ensure they can chart their own course, to ensure we can push back on these atrocities from Russia. So thank you for being here. As it was said so well, today we are one. Today we are all Ukrainians
“Slava Ukraini! Yes, glory to the heroes. Heroiam Slava!
“And in the midst of this atrocity, there are so many heroes to glorify! The brave border guards on Snake Island, the grandmother handing Russian soldiers sunflower seeds, saying if you don’t leave, I want to give you something beautiful that will grow up from your grave. The courageous President of Ukraine who when asked by western countries if they could help him escape, responded, “I need ammunition, not a ride,”
“Yesterday I spoke with President Zelenskyy, along with some of my colleagues, he continues to be strong and resolute and today we thank him for that resolve. We thank him for his courage and we support him in leading the Ukrainian people. Glory to the everyday heroes who are caring for the wounded, feeding desperate families who are living in basements, who are living subway stations who don’t know where their next meal will come from; glory to the professional soldiers and citizens alike who are taking up arms and putting their lives on the line, for freedom, for their homeland and for a better future for Ukraine. Slava Heroiam!
“Some have asked, “Why is a U.S. Senator from Ohio so concerned about Ukraine? Why did we start the caucus? Why have we been fighting for the Ukrainian people and their right to chart their own course?” Well, one of the reasons is this flag in front of you which is from Ohio because there are tens of thousands of Ohioans of Ukrainian descent. Some are here today – Marta’s here, Andy’s here, many others are here.
“I was with you last Sunday, a week ago – its seems like a year ago – in Cleveland, Ohio, in Parma, where we had a prayer vigil and we had a demonstration in support of Ukraine, a rally like this one. Over a thousand people showed up. The crowd was pouring out of the Church, not everyone could fit in but everyone was praying. We prayed for your loved ones that many of you have that are in Ukraine. This evening, as darkness has come upon Ukraine and as the shells continue to fly, your families, your friends are there and we pray for them. And we prayed for protection for the brave soldiers, some of whom are taking up arms for the first time as citizen soldiers. And of course we prayed for the security and wisdom for the duly elected government of Ukraine.
“I was there in 2014, as the Maidan was still smoldering and saw the commitment of the Ukrainian people to chart their own course. I was also an election observer as the first presidential election and I was able to report back to my colleagues that this was a fair election. This was an election that ensured that the Ukrainian people had the leadership they voted for. What a novel thought. And today, that leadership is under fire and so we prayed for them as well.
“But even if I didn’t have a single constituent of Ukrainian descent, I would be here. Why? Because Ukraine matters to America, to all freedom-loving people of the world. All of us. This is where, in our generation, in our time, the cause of freedom must be defended. This is where, in our generation, in our time, we must protection those who wish to protect those who wish to chart their own course, protect their sovereign independent country. This is where we are being tested. Not just the United States, but our allies and freedom-loving people all over the world.
“When the people of Ukraine chose to get rid of a corrupt Russian-backed government eight years ago, for a second time, they chose freedom over tyranny, they chose democracy over authoritarianism. They chose to ensure that the people of Ukraine would have the ability to chart their own course. That’s what we freedom-loving countries of the world proclaim every day. Now is not the time to shirk our responsibilities, now is time to step forward and help the people of Ukraine, shoulder-to-shoulder.
“Ukrainians are defending their homeland and fighting back, and have already denied President Putin his early goals. Putin severely underestimated the power of freedom and the power of the Ukrainian people. There is no question about that. In Congress, we now must do more.
“I say to the Russian commanders and to the officials in Moscow, there is another choice. Stop this atrocity. Refuse the orders to kill innocent neighbors. Stop this atrocity that has already taken the lives of thousands of innocent civilians – men, women, and children who want nothing more than to live in peace. I say to the commanders and to these officials, the world is watching. The war crimes are being recorded. You have a choice.
“In Congress we need to do more to tighten the sanctions, to tighten the noose on the Putin economy. We must do more to provide more military assistance to Ukraine. We must send more weapons including anti-tank and anti-air equipment, communications gear. But in particular I have been calling for the past several days – I wrote a letter to the President and his people recently, a bipartisan plea to work with the countries of Poland, Romania, and Slovakia – they have their planes that the Ukrainian pilots know how to fly and they desperately need them.
“This requires the United States of America to play a role. These countries are willing to sell, or give, their Soviet-era planes away, but they need to know from us that we will help them with more advanced aircraft in the future. We should do that, they are our allies. That is all it would take. Let’s give President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people the protection they deserve, by having aircrafts in the air to stop that Russian column. To stop the atrocities, stop the murders.
“There is bipartisan agreement on another issue, and that is we need to cut off the funding that is going Vladimir Putin and his war machine. One example of this, just one but an important one, is not to buy Russian oil and send blood money to Russia. Why would we be importing Russian oil? Let’s use our own natural resources here in North America. We have the resources, we should not be dependent on the Russian oil and we should not be sending $40 billion or $50 billion dollars a day to the war machine. We can do. There is bipartisan agreement on this issue as well. Last week I introduced legislation from Democrats and Republicans in equal numbers, saying let’s stop buying Russian energy and rely on our own energy instead.
“We need to stop all Russian banks from their access to the international banking system. Not some, all. Russia must be financially cut off from the rest of the world. We have already seen the pain that some of the sanctions have caused. We need to remove all of them from the international banking system. We need to exert maximum pressure to ensure no money can be sent to Russia to fund its war effort.
“I commend the administration’s sanctioning of Russian oligarchs and wealthy citizens but we need to do more. We need to move from freezing assets to seizing assets. And we can do that. Other countries have done it – countries like France, countries like Germany. We should be out front as Americans in not just freezing, but seizing. By the way, those assets that we seize should be proceeds that go to the Ukrainian people to help with the humanitarian effort that is needed.
“Right now, our friends in Ukraine need our help. Right now. Immediately, yesterday. We cannot let this call to action go unanswered. We cannot let the Ukrainian people continue to be at the mercy of a tyrannical dictator. We cannot sit by and watch as innocent civilians are brutally murdered.
“In the West, in America, must stand up, all of us, for freedom.
“The world is watching. Our friends are watching. Our adversaries are watching.
“We must show the world that America stands for freedom. American stands with Ukraine.
“God bless Ukraine. God bless you for being here.
“Slava Ukraini!”
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