Shaheen Questions Under Secretary Nuland during SFRC Hearing on Supplying Fighter Jets to Allies & Combating Misinformation amid Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, today participated in a full Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entitled, “Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: Assessing the U.S. and International Response.” The hearing featured testimony from Victoria Nuland, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and followed a classified Committee briefing on the same topic from last night.

During the hearing, Shaheen asked Under Secretary Nuland about Poland’s announcement today that it would deploy fighter jets to assist Ukrainian partners and asked her to detail plans for the U.S. to backfill Poland’s fleet. This announcement follows a push from Senators Shaheen and Rob Portman (R-OH) over the weekend for the administration to support aircraft transfers to Ukraine from Eastern European allies.

Shaheen also asked Under Secretary Nuland to outline U.S. coordination with NATO allies and Baltic States in response to dangerous misinformation propagated by the Kremlin. Given Putin’s ban on independent media in Russia, the Senator asked the Under Secretary to describe how the U.S. is working with our allies and technological companies to break through misinformation campaigns to get the truth to the Russian public.

You can watch Shaheen’s full line of questioning to Under Secretary Nuland here.

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. Shaheen recently issued a joint bipartisan statement with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) marking the fourth anniversary of the Senate NATO Observer Group, which they re-established together and currently serve as co-chairs. Over the weekend, Shaheen and Portman sent a bipartisan letter to the administration urging it to support aircraft transfers to Ukraine from Eastern European allies.

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