Senators from both parties speak out against Russia as Ukraine offers ceasefire

WASHINGTON — Hours after President Donald Trump announced to reporters that Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, a bipartisan group of senators took to the Senate floor to urge support for Ukraine.

The senators confirmed reports that the peace talks between Ukraine and the United States restored military support and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to agree to the ceasefire.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, said he chose to speak Tuesday to “reinforce that Ukraine needs our help, Europe needs to step up and Putin is the personification of evil.”

He spent the next 10 minutes reinforcing those points.

Tillis co-chairs the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire. He has been an outspoken critic of Russia over the past three years.

Shaheen organized the group of Democrats and Republican senators to speak out for Ukraine as Ukrainian and United States officials gathered in Saudi Arabia.

“I think that strong bipartisan support has been there because we understand that this is a fight for democracy,” Shaheen said. “This is a fight to stop the overturning of the international rule space order, to stop a dictator like Vladimir Putin from going into a country and thinking just because he wants to take it over, he can. We know not only our are allies watching but so our are adversaries.”

Shaheen reminded her colleagues that North Korea is fighting with Russia, Iran is providing missiles and China is giving support.

“They’re watching what America does here,” she said. “We understand as Republican and Democratic senators to have a lasting peace in Ukraine, we need to make sure that Russia is accountable and we have security guarantees.”

The group spoke for more than an hour and included Sens. Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, Peter Welch, Susan Collins, Chris Coons and Michael Bennet.

Ukraine needs help

Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, reminded senators that Ukraine isn’t asking for manpower from the United States.

She said Ukrainians are asking for ammunition, arms, logistics and satellite imaging for intelligence gathering.

“We should be proud as Americans that we have helped to make a difference,” Murkowski said. “We have helped Ukraine push back the Russian advance. It has prevented Kyiv from falling to Russia. It has helped Ukrainian defenders hold the line there.”

She added that every weapon system, ammunition, radar and drone has served as lifelines to the Ukrainian people.

Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, added that American troops aren’t dying on the front lines, but Ukrainians defending “their country, democracy and way of life.”

Europe steps in

Senators applauded European leaders for stepping up and helping Ukraine following a contentious meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy two weeks ago at the White House.

But Tillis also noted that European countries were $2 trillion behind on their commitments to NATO.

“What would have happened if our NATO alliance was stronger, if everyone met the bare minimums for support,” Tillis asked. “What if $2 trillion more would have been spent? Would that have been enough to possibly persuade Putin from invading Ukraine?”

Tillis said Ukraine is a “doormat to Europe.” If he wins there, he will start chipping away at the rest of the continent. Tillis said that’s already happening.

Criticism of Putin

There was a consensus among the senators that “Putin is evil.”

Tillis listed off the things he blames Putin for:

—80,000 dead service members

—13,000 dead civilians

—400,000 wounded service members

—30,000 injured civilians.

“Let me tell you a little bit about those civilians,” Tillis said. “There are 16-year-olds who had their legs blown off because Vladimir Putin ordered the launching of dumb bombs into residential areas. He allowed drones to hit children’s hospitals that we visited.

“This is the carnage that the Ukrainian people are experiencing every single day, 24/7, 365 days since the invasion began three years ago,” Tillis added.

He talked about women being raped as well as people being shot walking their dogs or while riding a bike.

“The surprise to Vladimir Putin was he had no earthly idea what the strength of democracy and freedom has in the hearts and minds of humans beings,” Tillis said. “The Ukrainian people, in spite of overwhelming odds, numbers and weapons, they defended it. They have been defending it for three years.”

Finding peace

Tension between the United States and Ukraine escalated in recent weeks after Zelenskyy met with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office.

Tensions were already heightened, as it seemed that Trump was soft toward Putin.

Vance and Trump told Zelenskyy in a meeting that he wasn’t grateful enough for United States’ help, despite repeated proclamations of gratitude over the past three years. Following the meeting, the Ukrainian leader was forced to leave the White House earlier than expected and without signing an expected mineral agreement that would have given the United States some access to Ukraine’s future mineral proceeds.

Last week, Zelenskyy said the meeting was “regrettable.”

On Tuesday, officials from both countries met for eight hours in Saudi Arabia, where Ukrainian officials agreed to the 30-day ceasefire.

“President Zelenskyy has show time and again that he is always willing to negotiate for peace,” said Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, on the Senate floor a few hours later. “Putin has always been the aggressor and that is why, I believe, we must always stand with Ukraine.”

Ceasefire proposed

Trump first announced the agreement to pool reporters Tuesday afternoon at the White House, adding that Zelenskyy would be welcomed back to the White House.

“Ukraine,” Trump said. “Ceasefire. Just agreed to a little while ago. Ukraine has agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it.”

Trump added that he expects to speak to Putin later this week, according to pool reports.

Zelenskyy posted about the agreement on social media, saying that U.S. officials proposed a ceasefire by air and sea.

Zelenskyy wrote that he sees this as a “confidence-building measure” that could result in the release of prisoners of war, including both military and civilians and Ukrainian children.

“During today’s talks, the U.S. side proposed taking an even bigger first step — a 30-day full interim ceasefire, not only stopping missile, drone, and bomb attacks, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Ukraine is ready to accept this proposal. We see it as a positive step and are ready to take it. Now, it is up to the United States to convince Russia to do the same. If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately.”

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