Shaheen-Wicker Send Strong Bipartisan Message in Support of Ukraine during Wilson Center Discussion
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) participated in an event hosted by the Wilson Center this afternoon to address the crisis in Ukraine amid increased Russian aggression. The discussion was moderated by Wilson Center President and CEO Ambassador Mark Green.
The Senators addressed a number of key topics, including their bipartisan CODEL to Ukraine in January, the latest news on the crisis and implications for Europe as a consequence of Russia’s increased provocations to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. Shaheen and Wicker are also co-chairs of the Free Belarus Caucus, which they launched last year. The Senators’ bipartisan resolution in support of the Belarusian pro-democracy movement unanimously passed the Senate this week.
The event can be streamed in full here.
Shaheen and Wicker speak with Ambassador Green this afternoon about the political and military crisis in Ukraine due to increased Russian aggression.
The Senators recently participated in a bipartisan delegation, led by Shaheen and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), to Ukraine to reaffirm the U.S.’ commitment to its partner as it faces an increasingly belligerent Russia. The launch of the Free Belarus Caucus followed the Senators’ meeting with Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Last June, Senator Shaheen led a bipartisan delegation to Eastern Europe, which included stops in Ukraine as well as Lithuania, where she met with Ms. Tsikhanouskaya to discuss the Lukashenka regime’s increasing human rights abuses against political opposition. Shaheen previously questioned Tsikhanouskaya during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S. policy in Belarus. Last year, Senator Shaheen penned an op-ed in USA Today on why the West must come together to address the political situation in Belarus.
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