After hearing direct pleas for assistance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, West Virginia’s congressional leaders expressed continued support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s vicious invasion.

Zelenskyy addressed members of Congress Wednesday morning by video live-stream from Ukraine, urging lawmakers for more support, arms, economic sanctions and a no-fly zone over his country

“Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided,” Zelenskyy said. “The destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, our cities. It went on a brutal offensive against our values. Basic human values. Against our freedom, our right to live freely, choosing our own future. Against our desire for happiness, against our national dreams.”

Members of West Virginia’s congressional delegation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives weighed in on Zelenskyy’s speech in press releases and posts on social media Wednesday.

“I greatly appreciate the opportunity to hear directly from President Zelenskyy as he continues to show immense courage leading his country through this senseless attack from Vladimir Putin,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement. “The United States can and must do more to support the valiant efforts of the Ukrainian people and prevent Putin’s further advance while also preventing another world war.”

“Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has shown true leadership, strength and resolve in defending the freedom of his country and the people of Ukraine,” said U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., in a statement.

“The U.S. should support President Zelenskyy’s calls for increased economic sanctions against Russia, providing humanitarian aid and military assistance, stopping short of putting boots on the ground,” McKinley added.

McKinley said the U.S. also needs to take brakes off domestic energy production of oil and natural gas, both to bring the nation’s gas prices back down and to supply European allies with liquid natural gas to replace the fossil fuels supplied by Russia.

“The most expedient way forward is to restore U.S. energy independence, including lifting restrictions on natural gas, coal and oil production and restarting the Keystone Pipeline,” McKinley said. “Restoring American energy dominance means we can support our European allies’ energy needs, which would effectively cut the main source of funding for Putin’s war on Ukraine. Supporting President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine by shutting out Russia shows that U.S. continues to stand, unequivocally, for the values of democracy and freedom.”

According to a video of the speech provided by C-SPAN, Zelenskyy showed a video to congressional lawmakers detailing the horrors of war being inflicted on Ukraine by Russian armed forces, including bombings and shellings of cities and civilians as they flee. Zelenskyy compared the daily onslaught to the 9/11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., by Al Qaida.

“Remember September 11, a terrible day in 2001, when people tried to turn your cities into battlefields,” Zelenskyy said. “Our country experiences the same every day. Right now, this moment, every night for three weeks, in various Ukrainian cities, Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have fired 1,000 missiles at Ukraine. They use drones to kill us with precision.”

“What a powerful address asking us, as Americans, to be the leaders in peace, to help them bring peace to a democracy, to keep peace,” said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., in a video posted to Twitter Wednesday, standing in front of the Ukrainian national flag. “The video he showed was very powerful to me. I just want to thank him for his bravery and the Ukrainian people for their bravery. We are on their side, and we’re going to help them. We have been helping them, we just need to help them more.”

Both U.S. Reps. Alex Mooney and Carol Miller, both R-W.Va., posted their reactions to Zelenskyy’s speech on Twitter.

“This morning, Congress heard a powerful and moving message for peace from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” Mooney said. “The United States of America stands with Ukraine.”

“Thank you, President Zelenskyy, for addressing Congress this morning,” Miller said. “America stands with Ukraine in its fight for freedom and against Putin’s evil. May God be with you.”

According to the White House, President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. will provide an additional $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine. Total U.S. financial support for Ukraine topped $1 billion in the last week and $2 billion since Biden took office in 2021. The additional funds will cover Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelin light armor weapons, Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems and more.

Source: https://www.journal-news.net/journal-news/w-va-congressional-delegation-moved-by-address-from-ukraine-president/article_1a1c1f7e-648a-540b-9003-25005ff88fac.html