Gets Private Briefing from President Zelenskyy

WASHINGTON, DC (TIP) : Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY), joined by a bipartisan group of congressional members, met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top-ranking Ukrainian, Polish, Moldovan, and US military and civilian officials during his trip last week to war-weary Eastern Europe. The delegation included Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Congress Members Chuck Edwards (R-NC), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Wiley Nickel (D-NC), and Mike Quigley (D-IL)

The trip began on Monday, April 1, 2024, and for security reasons, details were not released or publicized until the Congress members left for home. This is the only Congressional Delegation that stayed overnight and for multiple days in Ukraine since the war started. The delegation stayed in Kyiv for two days and visited Odessa and multiple other sites throughout the country, as well as neighboring Poland and Moldova.

“It is vital that the United States act quickly to support Ukraine in every way we can,” Suozzi said.

“Putin is stepping up his attacks and he must be stopped. The Ukrainians are running out of time, and we must act within the next two weeks. Helping Ukraine is not only a moral imperative but also in America’s strategic and financial interests,” Suozzi explained.

“My week-long meetings with the Ukrainian President, his military advisors, journalists, prosecutors, farmers, local leaders, and civilians on the ground convinced me more than ever of how courageous the Ukrainians are amidst so much pain, suffering and terror Russia’s Putin has rained down upon Ukraine,” he added.

“100,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed, 10 million people forced to leave their homes, 20,000 children kidnapped and sent to Russia,” Suozzi emphasized.

On Saturday, April 6th, in Kyiv, Suozzi was awoken by the searing sound of air-raid sirens in the middle of the night. Three Russian missiles and 28 bomb-carrying drones targeted the city. Anti-aircraft defenses were deployed, and they were successfully shot down, but Ukraine is running out of ammunition.

Zelenskyy met with Suozzi and the delegation in the Chernihiv region in Northern Ukraine, liberated from the Russians exactly two years ago on Friday, April 5, 2022.

The President briefed the group on the latest events on the battlefield, his army’s urgent needs, and the scale of the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Suozzi said that Zelenskyy began the meeting by saying, “We are grateful to everyone in the United States, to every American heart that, like ours in Ukraine, refuses to succumb to evil and cherishes life.”

“While meeting with President Zelenskyy, he first and foremost expressed his gratitude to the American people. He then made it clear that the situation now in Ukraine is dire. Ukraine must be resupplied, and if they are, they can and will stop Putin,” said Suozzi.

Suozzi and the delegation saw the tragic toll taken by Ukraine’s civilian population, during the Russian invasion.

He visited the Ukrainian city of Bucha, the site of civilian massacres and brutal killings first suffered by Ukraine, where hundreds of civilians were murdered and buried in mass graves.

He spent time learning more about the Russian siege from Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruck and War Crimes Prosecutor General Roman Avramenko. “I visited with residents held hostage, with families whose apartment buildings were bombed, and churches destroyed, with farmers removing mines before planting, journalists reporting in dangerous conditions while over 70 of their colleagues have been killed, prosecutors attacking corruption, and with officials and civilians responsible to keep ports operating,” said Suozzi.

“I heard from liberated hostages held in dark, cold, and wet basements with little food and no room to move or sleep for a month. Hundreds of children, seniors, and infants were confined without a single toilet; buckets were used. And when people died, their bodies were stacked up against the wall. When people asked for help, they were scolded by Russian soldiers and told, ‘This is war,’” Suozzi retold.

He toured previously liberated battle-scarred towns and cities that have been the victims of Russian assault and destruction. He spoke with the Governor of Odessa, Oleg Kipper, and his team working to keep the port operating while under constant bombardment.

Suozzi visited fellow NATO member Poland and met with Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski, and several of Poland’s defense officials, as well as with the President of Moldova, Maia Sandy, to better understand Russia’s threat to all of Eastern Europe.

Suozzi also met with U.S. Army Brigadier General Jerry Baird and other service members of the 82nd Airborne Division stationed in Poland and responsible for shipping all arms and supplies into Ukraine.

“It’s clear to me that America must continue its leadership in NATO to stand against any further Russian aggression,” Suozzi said.

Suozzi was unable to fly from Poland to Ukraine as flights have become impossible. He and the delegation took a 12-hour overnight train to reach the embattled country,

The Congressman returned home on Monday, April 8th. He promised to provide a more extensive description of his visit in the coming weeks.
“The people of my district would be appalled by what Putin has done. I am more convinced than ever that he must be stopped, and that aiding Ukraine is central to the United States strategic and financial interests,” concluded Suozzi. “I will carry that message forward in Washington this week.”