Shaheen, Portman, Wicker, Durbin Urge President Biden to Appoint a Ukraine Security Assistance Coordinator
(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) – a senior member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees – sent a letter with U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) to President Joe Biden, urging him to appoint a Ukraine Security Assistance Coordinator. In light of the ongoing fighting in Ukraine as the United States continues to send an historic amount of aid to assist Ukraine in their defense, the Senators believe a coordinator would help synchronize efforts within our government and improve our response time in sending aid to Europe.
“Even after their initial defeat, Russia’s ongoing military operations are an urgent call to re-assess how the United States can quickly and creatively provide Ukraine with the defense articles it needs to defend itself. The Ukraine Security Assistance Coordinator’s primary mission would be to lead the interagency effort in assessing Ukraine’s defense needs while de-conflicting overlapping areas of jurisdiction between the Department of State and the Department of Defense. This person would also serve as the chief liaison between the United States Government and our allies and partners abroad in matters relating to the transfer of existing stocks and assessment of partner capabilities, such as aircraft, heavy tanks, and sophisticated weapons that could be made available to Ukraine,” wrote the Senators.
The full letter can be read here
Shaheen has led action in the U.S. Senate in support of Ukraine in response to Vladimir Putin’s belligerence, which also threatens the stability and security of Eastern Europe and NATO allies. Last week, legislation co-led by Shaheen to speed up military assistance to Ukraine and Eastern European nations cleared the Senate. Last month, Shaheen and members of the Senate Ukraine Caucus met with Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, and members of the Ukrainian Parliament. In February, Shaheen led a successful bipartisan effort with Portman to pass a resolution that conveys a renewed and overwhelmingly bipartisan message from the U.S. Senate in fierce support of Ukraine. Earlier this year, Shaheen and Portman led a bipartisan delegation to Ukraine, where they met with President Zelenskyy and members of his administration. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, she supported the inclusion of $13.6 billion in security assistance that was part of government funding legislation signed into law by President Biden.
Senator Shaheen has long led efforts in the Senate to hold Russia accountable for its malign activity against the U.S. and its allies. Because of her role as a negotiator on Russia sanctions legislation known as “CAATSA” and her successful efforts to ban Kaspersky Lab software from operating on U.S. systems, Shaheen was sanctioned by the Kremlin in 2017. Before the Shaheen-Portman congressional delegation visit to Ukraine in January, Shaheen led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, last June.
