By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Democratic and Republican U.S. senators introduced a resolution on Tuesday supporting Ukraine as it battles Russian invaders, hours before President Donald Trump was due to make his nationally televised State of the Union address to the nation.
The resolution was led by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Thom Tillis, who are co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group. It had at least 26 other co-sponsors, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, representing more than a quarter of the Senate.
Provisions in the measure include encouragement of strong cooperation among NATO allies and a call for any negotiated settlement to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and “include Ukraine as the central party to discussions regarding its future.”
The resolution came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government faces mounting U.S. pressure to secure a peace deal. Although it does not have the force of law, it illustrates the strong support for the government in Kyiv from many in Washington, and its release on Tuesday sends a signal ahead of the State of the Union address that lawmakers want more support for Ukraine from Trump.
Trump’s Tuesday night speech coincides with the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a reminder of a conflict that the Republican president has yet to end despite his past vow that he could stop it “in 24 hours.”
Members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have urged him to do more to help Zelenskiy’s government, including sending all of the financial and military aid they have authorized over the past several years.
“Congress must continue to support Ukraine and place real pressure on the Kremlin. That pressure must include sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet to cut off Putin’s ability to fund the war and must be done in conjunction with our allies,” Shaheen said in a statement, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to evade sanctions on oil shipments.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee, Rod Nickel)
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