Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., was scheduled to leave for Germany and Poland on Thursday.
Before that trip with several of her Senate colleagues, she held a virtual press conference from her Washington office.
“I will see first-hand (the situation there), talk to NATO officials, and also talk to our military and also talk about the humanitarian effort with more than 2 million leaving the country,” she said. “I will certainly have some news on Monday (the return date)…”
The group will be hearing form intelligence on what is happening there, from cybersecurity to all the things occurring in the war areas of Ukraine, and learn what the country needs.
Capito said she also hopes to meet with some refugees.
“There is nothing like seeing it with your own eyes and (hearing it) with your own ears,” she said, adding that she also wants to meet with some of the organizations helping the refugees.
“To me, some of the most poignant images I have seen are baby carriages on the Poland border,” she said, referring to lines of baby carriages waiting to be given to refugees for the babies they carried from Ukraine.
Polish mothers gave those carriages and that was “very moving,” she said.
Capito will be joined by U.S. Senators Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Susan Collins, R-Maine; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Angus King, I-Maine; Roger Marshall, R-Kan.; Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.
The bipartisan group of 10 senators issued the following joint statement ahead of their visit to Poland and Germany:
“This strong, bipartisan delegation proves the Senate stands united in its support for Ukraine. During our time in Poland and Germany, we will have the opportunity to gain greater insight on the U.S. and NATO response through engagements with top military leaders. We will return with better insight on how Congress can and should continue to support the Ukrainian people and our NATO allies, and see firsthand the heartbreaking humanitarian impact of Putin’s war of aggression.”
Capito also said Thursday she joined her colleagues in listening to the “very powerful” speech Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered virtually to Congress on Wednesday.
“The video he played was tough to watch,” she said of graphic images of death and destruction. “But I think it framed out the human tragedy occurring in that country and in those beautiful cities.”
Zelenskyy listed the military equipment he needs, she said, as well as a no-fly zone, and “whatever he can get in defending his own country.
“I think we came out pretty resolved there (in helping),” she said, but expressed a frustration with the Biden administration over the failure to send the Russian MiGs from Poland to Ukraine, a move she supported.
“It was good news a lot of drones will be going over there,” she said of the Switchblade drones being sent as part of an $800 million aid package. “They can be quite effective on the ground and in the air.”
A no-fly zone continues to be a non-starter for the Biden administration as officials say the escalation risk is too high.
Capito said Zelenskyy also urged President Joe Biden to be a “leader for peace” and take action, adding that she is also disappointed that Biden keeps “leading from behind” as he acts only after being pushed by NATO and Congress.
She said Biden has been telling Russian President Vladimir Putin what the U.S. will not do, but not saying what the U.S. and NATO will do in establishing “red lines” for Russia.
But there must be consequences if a red line is crossed, and Capito said that may be a sticking point with this administration.
She referred to former President Barack Obama and his red line on the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.
“We didn’t do anything,” she said of the administration’s response after it happened. “If you are going to create a red line, you’ve got to be willing to come through. This administration is not willing to put punishments on the table.”
This “emboldens” Putin in some sense, she added.
“We have to be ready to exert punishment in conjunction with our allies to have believable lines that will have any sort of impact,” she said.
However, she thinks sanctions against Russia are having a significant impact and more should come.
Capito said she listened to Putin’s “disturbing” speech earlier this week when he said in an address to his nation that any Russian who does not support him is “scum” and a “traitor,” and Russia needs a “self-cleansing.”
“I think Putin will do anything,” she said. “He is ruthless … It does worry me. I think ethnic cleansing is something he has done before and he will use it.”
Putin has also banned all media outlets other than the Kremlin-created news and is using propaganda because he is concerned about keeping the Russian people’s “hearts and minds,” if he still has them, she said.
“He is already humiliated,” she said of the failure of the expected military progress in Ukraine.
Capito said she is also concerned about some U.S. right-wing news pundits saying things that are actually used as part of Russia’s propaganda.
“I think we have to be very careful here,” she said. “If we learned anything in the 2016 election, it was that Russia is very skilled in aggressive social media.”
Russian TV has reportedly used clips of pundits here talking about a biolab in Ukraine that the U.S. has used to help develop biological weapons, which is one of the justifications for the invasion that is part of the propaganda spread.
“This biolab thing sprang out of nowhere,” she said. “I think it has been totally debunked. I think we have to be careful.”
According to various news sources, Ukraine has biolabs but no evidence exits they pursued bioweapons and the only assistance provided by the U.S. was related to biosafety.
But Capito said people in this country can say what they want.
“Some people take freedom of speech to mean anything and everything at all times,” she said. “That is the country we live in … But when it harms us, I think people should start paying attention.”
The hope is, she said, that the Russian people will learn the truth and “rise up and tell their leaders he (Putin) is killing people and he is killing his own forces and it’s time for him to leave.”
During her Thursday press conference, Capito also said she had met with U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Jackson is “very well-accomplished, and a very well-qualified jurist,” Capito said, adding that she expected a candidate who "leans to the left.”
“But I am still maintaining an open mind on how I will vote.”
Hearings start on Monday, and Capito said she is looking forward to hearing Jackson’s stand on issues like federal overreach on environmental issues, separation of powers of executive and legislative branches of government, and drugs and sentencing guidelines.
Capito said these hearings, unlike previous ones, should be a “process of dignity” and no personal attacks.