WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur visited U.S. troops in Germany and Poland last week and was struck by how efficiently the Polish people have taken in a flood of Ukrainian refugees.
“If I were to have a surprise, it’s that with over two million people streaming into Poland, you’d never know it,” Kaptur (D, OH-09) told Spectrum News in an interview on Wednesday.
The Toledo Democrat represents Ohio’s largest Ukrainian population and co-chairs the Ukraine Caucus in Congress.
She’s been supportive of President Joe Biden’s approach to Russia’s war thus far — to commit more than $3 billion in military aid, but to keep U.S. troops out of Ukraine.
“Did you come away [from your trip] feeling that what the Biden administration has done and what Congress has done in terms of aid is enough or is more needed?” Spectrum News asked Kaptur.
“That depends on the nature of what happens in this fight over the next several weeks,” she said.
Kaptur said U.S. military leaders told her getting supplies into Ukraine is a complex challenge because they need to do so without Russian troops learning where the weapons are and destroying them.
“It is a deep concern of mine that Ukraine have enough weapons and ammunition to conduct this fight,” Kaptur said.
Congressman Mike Turner, a Republican who represents OH-10 centered in Dayton, is more critical of Biden.
“It would have been so much more timely if Biden had responded and provided weapons to Ukraine earlier,” Turner told Fox News last week after making his own trip to Poland, Romania, and Brussels.
Turner is the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and has access to some of the most classified U.S. intel on the war.
In a statement to Spectrum News, he said of his trip: “As Putin continues his inhumane and egregious assault on innocent civilians, it is an ominous reminder that we must continue to support the Ukrainian people. During my trip to Poland, Romania, and Brussels, I was able to meet with U.S. troops, NATO officials, and Ukrainian refugees to discuss how to best counter Putin and what more the U.S. can do to assist. Being there you realize the scope of damage that one man, Vladimir Putin, can do. This truly is a war of tyranny vs. freedom.”
On Thursday, Biden announced an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine and asked lawmakers to consider passing another round of aid when they return to session next week.
Kaptur said she’s worried Ukraine will need a lot more armored equipment, so her message to her colleagues will be to give the president what he wants.
“Use every means we have to backfill,” she told Spectrum News.
