A two-part group of house members traveled to Poland over the weekend, where they met with Ukrainian refugees, the Polish prime minister and US troops.
The delegation, led by minority leader rep. Kevin McCarthy, a vocal critic of President Biden’s handling of the war in Ukraine, held talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brezinski in Warsaw, McCarthy’s office said Sunday. .
The Californian Republican had high praise for Poland, which has received the majority of refugees who have fled the war in Ukraine.
“Poland has been an indispensable strategic partner in receiving millions of refugees, working closely with our military forces and contributing fully to NATO, as we all aim to restore peace and prosperity in the region,” McCarthy said in the statement.
“Our visit today should serve as a strong message to Putin that we condemn his unprovoked attack. Evil can not win,” he said.
McCarthy said the group visited Poland to emphasize US support for Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian troops since invading the country on the 24th.
“The whole world is watching what’s going on in Ukraine,” McCarthy said. “We see the atrocities being committed by [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, and more importantly, we see the bravery of the Ukrainian people. We are here – as representatives of the United States – to ensure that we do the right thing to support Ukrainians in defending themselves and their democracy. “
House members also met with Ukrainian refugees in northeastern Poland, Ukrainian officials and U.S. soldiers in the 82nd Airborne.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) called the meeting with refugees devastating.
“It’s just heartbreaking to see the effects of people fleeing the war, with just the belongings they could grab, with their young children, maybe just trying to seek safety,” Turner told Fox News Digital Sunday.
“It becomes even clearer when you see the people fleeing war that this is really just about one person. This is about Putin, “he continued.
Turner, the top Republican in Parliament’s Permanent Committee on Intelligence, criticized the Biden administration for not providing Ukraine with the military equipment it needed more quickly to deter Putin. ,
“It would have been so much more topical if Biden had responded and delivered weapons to Ukraine earlier. And when we look at the logistics now and know that it happens during a conflict, during war, we would have been able to get weapons “and could have been able to actually repel the Russian invasion instead of now while fighting to try to recapture land that Russia is bombing,” Turner told Fox.
In McCarthy’s statement on the trip, he said Ukrainian officials insisted that even though they were able to fight Russian troops, they needed better weapons to do so.
And like Turner, McCarthy told The Post in an interview last month that Biden was too slow to respond.
“America is not leading. Europe is leading. Armed, it’s too late.… [Biden] said: ‘After [the Russians] in, I will carry out these sanctions, ” he told The Post.
“‘After [the Russians] in, I will deliver [Ukraine] with weapons. ‘It’s a little too late and people are dying because of that decision. The No. 1 thing you want to do is not have a war. You will have deterrent effect. You want to show them the actions before, “he said.
With McCarthy along with Turner are reps. Steve Scalise from Louisiana, Michael McCaul from Texas, Ken Calvert from California, French Hill of Arkansas, Mike Garcia from California, Michelle Fischbach from Minnesota and Kathleen Rice, a Democrat from New York and Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat from Florida.