Press Releases

Yesterday, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and Congressman Mike Turner (R-OH), former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, sent a bipartisan letter to President Biden requesting additional assistance for Ukraine following Russia’s illegal invasion.

“This morning, the leadership of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held an emergency meeting with the Ukrainian delegation to the Assembly, which includes Ukrainian MPs who have taken up arms to defeat the Russian invasion,” the members wrote.  

“After a long night of fighting across the country and a heroic effort to slow Russia’s advance on Kyiv, our colleagues made an urgent plea for helmets and bullet proof vests, as well as anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons, among other items. The U.S. and our Allies should consider all possible options to limit and ultimately deny Russian access to the airspace over Ukraine,” the members added.

Full text of the letter follows and is available here.

Dear President Biden:

We write in our capacity as the bipartisan leadership of the United States delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to urge the Administration to expand immediately expedited military and humanitarian assistance to our partners in Ukraine.

This morning, the leadership of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly held an emergency meeting with the Ukrainian delegation to the Assembly, which includes Ukrainian MPs who have taken up arms to defeat the Russian invasion.

After a long night of fighting across the country and a heroic effort to slow Russia’s advance on Kyiv, our colleagues made an urgent plea for helmets and bullet proof vests, as well as anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons, among other items. The U.S. and our Allies should consider all possible options to limit and ultimately deny Russian access to the airspace over Ukraine.

The fighting has already resulted in tens of thousands of refugees streaming across the borders of NATO allies. The continued fighting will only exacerbate the unfolding humanitarian crisis in and around Ukraine. The U.S. and our NATO allies must ensure humanitarian assistance is provided to the Ukrainian people who are suffering at the hands of Putin’s maniacal attack on a peaceful and democratic neighbor.

The Ukrainian people have already demonstrated the willingness to resist, they just require the means to do so.

Best Regards,