After the Summit of NATO Parliamentary Speakers, which took place on 08-09 July this year in Washington, DC, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the Leader of the Republican Party in the US Senate Mitch McConnell, the Speaker Emerita of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the Deputy Leader of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives Tom Emmer.
First of all, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament thanked his colleagues for the adoption of the latest international aid package and the bipartisan and bicameral support for Ukraine. Ruslan Stefanchuk emphasised that the decision to provide assistance to Ukraine was critically important for Ukraine.
In a conversation with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Ruslan Stefanchuk raised security issues and the need to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities. "The situation at the frontline is difficult, russia is increasing its mobilisation resources and launching missile attacks on Ukrainian cities," the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament said.
He stressed that Ukraine needs more support and more weapons. First of all, Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed, we desperately need air defence systems, ammunition for them, as well as F-16 aircraft and anti-drone systems.
Given the constant shelling of frontline cities by russia, the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament called on Mitch McConnell to support the authorisation of our American partners to strike at russian military targets.
During his meeting with the Speaker Emerita of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his deep gratitude for her personal leadership and consistency in supporting Ukraine.
In particular, he stressed that the adoption of the aid package for Ukraine was of great historical significance for our country and, most importantly, it will significantly enhance the protection of our people.
Ruslan Stefanchuk informed Nancy Pelosi about the russian attack on the children's hospital in the capital of Ukraine. "putin has demonstrated to the world that there are no red lines for him," the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament stressed.
Ruslan Stefanchuk also emphasised the need to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure. According to him, Ukrainian energy facilities equally need both reliable protection and assistance in their restoration.
At the meeting with Tom Emmer, the Deputy Leader of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives, special attention was paid to further assistance to Ukraine from the United States, in particular, with regard to the provision of air defence systems, long-range missiles, artillery systems and shells to our country.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk thanked Tom Emmer for his support and stressed that it is extremely important for Ukraine, which has been resisting russian aggression for three years in a row, to maintain and develop cooperation with true friends and allies.