Bipartisan group of senators visits Poland, Germany to meet with NATO partners over Ukraine

A bipartisan group of senators are visiting Poland and Germany this weekend to meet with NATO partners and military officials over the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, marking the second trip that lawmakers have made to Poland in recent weeks.

“This strong, bipartisan delegation proves the Senate stands united in its support for Ukraine,” the 10 senators said in a joint statement on Thursday. “During our time in Poland and Germany, we will have the opportunity to gain greater insight on the U.S. and NATO response through engagements with top military leaders. We will return with better insight on how Congress can and should continue to support the Ukrainian people and our NATO allies, and see firsthand the heartbreaking humanitarian impact of Putin’s war of aggression.”

The senators heading to the two countries include Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas). 

Ernst is leading the trip, according to a press release from her office.

Among the places and people that the lawmakers have visited on their trip so far are the Gen. John Shalikashvili Mission Command Center in Wiesbaden, Germany, U.S. ambassador to Germany Amy Guttman at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and German State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. 

Ernst also said that they met with NGOs in Poland and visited a refugee center. 

The development comes one week after a separate bipartisan Senate delegation traveled to Poland to meet with Polish officials and visit refugee sites amid the Ukrainian invasion.

The senators who participated in that trip included Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

The latest trip also comes several days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Congress and continued his push for a no-fly zone to be established over Ukraine, an idea that has faced resistance from the U.S., or warplanes and air defenses.