Ukraine prime minister goes to Congress, asks for more help against Russia

close

Video

Rep. Spartz: Biden is always a step behind the problem in Ukraine

Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz says the U.S. should reconsider funding for the United Nations after she reported seeing no humanitarian aid on the ground in Ukraine.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told Ukraine's prime minister Thursday that more U.S. aid is on the way to help fight off the "horrible" Russian invasion.

"We want to do more," Pelosi said Thursday, speaking of funding beyond the $13.6 billion that was already approved. "The president said he will be asking Congress for more. We'll learn about that in the next day or so to be taken up as soon as we can next week."

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, April 21, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Congress returns from Easter recess next week. A Pelosi aide later clarified that the House will receive the White House request for more Ukraine aid next week, but a vote has not yet been scheduled. 

Pelosi made the announcement during a meeting with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the Capitol on day 57 of Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine. Shmyhal thanked the U.S. for ongoing support while asking for more "finances" to help with the ongoing humanitarian and refugee crisis.

BIDEN ANNOUNCES ANOTHER $800 MILLION IN MILITARY ASSISTANCE FOR UKRAINE

"More than 10 million people are suffering because there is no food, no water, no electricity or water supply," Shmyhal said of the toll of the war. 

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., traveled to the Ukraine-Poland border the weekend of March 4, 2022, to see firsthand the humanitarian crisis created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Courtesy of Rep. Victoria Spartz's office)

With the ongoing support from the U.S. and other countries, "we hope that we will win" the war against Russia, he said. 

Pelosi praised the people of Ukraine and condemned Russia. 

"What Russia is doing in Ukraine is outside the circle of civilized human behavior. Horrible," Pelosi said. "Words are almost inadequate to describe it."

Shmyhal also met Thursday with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and President Biden. The visit coincided with Biden's morning announcement that the U.S. will provide an additional $800 million in security assistance and $500 million in economic support to Ukraine. 

Pelosi praised Biden's handling of Russia's war on Ukraine, calling him a "unifier."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"We're very proud to be working with our president, President Biden, who has been a unifier — a unifier within NATO, a unifier in terms of the U.S. government, and now a unifier with the Ukrainian people in so many ways," Pelosi said.

President Biden delivering remarks on his administration's Building a Better America efforts in Greensboro, N.C., April 14, 2022.  (Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Congress already approved nearly $14 billion in Ukraine aid in March.

The Ukrainian prime minister had a bipartisan meeting at the Capitol with Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; and Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo; Jim Himes, D-Conn.; Barbara Lee, D-Calif.; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Chris Smith, R-N.J.; and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who just returned from a visit to her native country of Ukraine.