After returning from the Ukrainian border, a Bay Area Congressman is calling for increased action from the White House to aid Ukraine against Russia.
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East Bay Representative Eric Swalwell returned to the United States after leading a bipartisan delegation of the House Committee on Intelligence to the Ukrainian border.
"I would like to give Ukraine a no fly zone that they can enforce because that would mean giving them soviet jets that they can fly and anti-aircraft systems that they can control, and then for us to keep ratcheting up the sanctions so that the long-term consequences of this are felt by Putin and Russia," Swalwell stated.
To provide Ukraine with a no fly zone would allow the country to use jets owned by former soviet countries in NATO. "I met with Ukrainian parliament members yesterday at the Capitol and that’s the number one request, just to keep the skies free from Russia's missiles and bombs," he said.
As a father of three young children, Swalwell said the trip to Ukraine's border was especially difficult due to the separation of families. "To see only women and children get off the train, it occurs to you immediately, 'oh, that’s right, the men have to stay back'," he explained. "These are families that are separated for God knows how long and that was just reinforced in a very up-close and personal way."
While Swalwell was in Ukraine, he worked at a nonprofit organization and also helped coordinate the global effort against Russia. "I went to the World Central Kitchen site and helped prepare food, but more importantly to help them in the United States by enabling through sanctions, lethal aid and coordinating the global effort to make sure that Vladimir Putin fails," he said.
Moving forward, stitching together a global alliance that even includes countries outside of NATO is going to be key, he urged.
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