Nevada lawmakers moved by Zelenskyy speech

Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 years ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for suppo ... — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to members of the U.S. Congress from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in appealing to the U.S. Congress to do more to help Ukraine’s fight against Russia. President Joe Biden said the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armor weapons and drones. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

President Joe Biden signs a delegation of authority in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. From left, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON – Nevada lawmakers said they were deeply moved Wednesday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose virtual address to Congress included a renewed plea for more humanitarian aid and military weapons to stop the ruthless three-week old Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy used graphic video to show the dire conditions and deaths in his country as Russian forces attacked apartment complexes, maternity wards and other civilian targets.

Lawmakers left with their emotions raw.

“It moved me to tears,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. “I was speechless when I left the room.”

Nevada lawmakers were seated with others in a Capitol auditorium where Zelenskyy spoke by video in praise of U.S. help in Ukraine’s battle to beat back the unprovoked invasion.

Zelenskyy again has called on the United States and NATO countries to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop Russian aerial attacks, something that President Joe Biden has failed to embrace due to potential for combat that he said could lead to “World War III.”

But immediately after Zelenskyy addressed Congress, Biden announced another $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, bringing the total of assistance over the last week to $1 billion.

Consensus to help

After the heartbreaking Zelenskyy speech, there was bipartisan consensus among lawmakers that the United States should do more to help the Ukrainian people and punish Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Nevada’s delegation joined in those sentiments.

Every member of the state’s delegation voted last week to pass an emergency spending bill with an additional $13.6 billion for Ukraine for military and humanitarian aid.

And the Ukrainian video Wednesday stoked a fresh sense of urgency to provide more.

“As President Zelenskyy showed and as we have seen in horrific images across Ukraine, from mass graves to leveled residential communities, the barbarity of Putin’s tactics is daunting,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and its subcommittee on Europe.

Russian tanks rolling into Kiev would be a loss for everyone opposed to Russia’s attempt to seize a neighboring nation, said Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., a member of the House Appropriations Committee which writes spending legislation.

Amodei said Nevadans and anybody who watched the video were clearly moved

“Their sympathies are simply with the Ukrainians,” Amodei said.

Economic retaliation

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said Congress and the Biden administration have levied sanctions on Russia that have devastated its economy.

“No economic measure should be taken off the table when it comes to isolating Putin,” said Cortez Masto, a member of the Senate Finance Committee.

Zelenskyy appealed to U.S. lawmakers to send more anti-aircraft weapons, Soviet-made MiG fighter jets from other NATO countries and to impose a no-fly zone.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., joined 40 colleagues who called on Biden to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

“We must act decisively to ensure Ukraine has the equipment it needs to fend off this brutal Russian invasion,” said Lee, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which is pressing for the jet fighter transfer. “The administration must find a way for all necessary equipment to reach the Ukrainians – and we must do it quickly,” she said.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said jets from NATO allies, such as Poland, could be replaced with U.S.-made fighter aircraft.

“I fully support efforts by our allies to provide Ukraine with badly-needed aircraft like the MiG-29, and to backfill these aircraft with U.S.-made fighters,” Horsford said.

“I see no substantive difference between the supply of weapons like Javelin missiles and the supply of fighter aircraft,” Horsford said.

Worries about Putin’s plans

Republican leaders have criticized the Biden administration for being too cautious in the fight to help Ukraine defend its borders from a Russian invasion.

While there was little dissension among lawmakers following Zelenskyy’s impassioned plea for Americans for “more help,” there was concern about Putin’s plans in the region, and whether the fall of Ukraine would empower the Russian president to advance.

That is why the United States and NATO allies must do all that they can, now, Amodei said.

“At some point in time, these guys are going to show up on the doorstep, so to speak, and we’re going to find out what the real objective is,” Amodei said. “We do not need another global setback in terms of being the ally that we’ve told people we would be.”

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.