'We are required to support our allies': Keating visits Ukraine after House vote

As a multibillion dollar aid package for Ukraine loomed on the near horizon, a bipartisan group of four lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives visited the Eastern European nation Monday as a diplomatic effort to reinforce U.S. support ahead of an expected Russian military offensive, U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Massachusetts, told the Times on Tuesday.

The group, which included two Republicans and two Democrats, met with several high-ranking Ukrainian officials, including the Minister of Defense, pro-government reform groups, anti-corruption officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Following a phone call the Ukrainian president took with U.S. President Joe Biden, Keating said the group met with Zelenskyy for nearly an hour. Keating said Ukraine is in the midst of a “crisis point” in their war with Russia, as money, munitions and other vital military supplies run low.

“They’ve just been completely outgunned,” Keating said. “It isn’t a lack of determination or courage, they’re just lacking the ammunition.”

Keating represents the 9th Congressional District, which includes the Cape and Islands, South Coast, and South Shore.

Keating: Low munitions in a 'very hot war'

Hours before the visit with Zelenskyy, the House voted to push a roughly $60 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine through to the U.S. Senate. As of Tuesday afternoon, the bill had the majority necessary to clear the chamber in a final vote.

The Senate later on Tuesday approved a package that would funnel $60 billion to support Ukraine, $17 billion for Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and elsewhere, and $8 billion for allies in the Indo-Pacific — with a bipartisan 79-18 vote. President Joe Biden was expected to swiftly sign the legislation into law.

Zelenskyy was relieved that the House package went through, Keating said. “It was just days before, that he was in a very hot war where the Russians were pushing them back and the munitions ratio was 10-to-1 in favor of the Russians.”

Additional aid for Ukraine has been a polarizing issue for Republicans and Democrats alike. Supporters of aid stress the importance of defending global allies of the U.S. in the face of rising authoritarianism and the threat of additional military conflict. Opponents in the U.S. point to a need to address domestic issues such as securing the country's southern border and dealing with inflation.

Keating said the aid package is a strategic victory in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, sending an important message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and strengthening Ukrainian resolve.

“Every single military person I've spoken to, that’s on our side, said it's pay less now or pay more later,” Keating said, referring to Putin’s intention of bringing other former-Soviet satellite states back into the Russian fold. “We are required to support our allies.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Keating visits Ukraine in show of support for $60B in aid