U.S. Rep. Panetta Visits NATO Allies and Ukrainian Border and Reinforces U.S. Commitment to Ukrainian People

SALINAS, CA – On Friday, April 15 U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) returned from a weeklong official visit to several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. The trip was led by House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) and included a delegation of nine Republican and Democratic members of Congress. The members visited Germany, Denmark, Poland, and Greenland and met with European leaders, Ukrainian refugees, U.S. troops, and diplomatic personnel. The purpose of the trip was to demonstrate solidarity with our NATO partners and reinforce the commitment by the U.S. Congress to helping the Ukrainian people with humanitarian aid, providing armaments for the defense of Ukraine, and hindering the Russian government with the appropriate sanctions. “This past week, our bipartisan Congressional delegation reinforced the rock-solid commitment of the United States to the NATO alliance and the Ukrainian people in the face of the ongoing Russian aggression and atrocities,” said Rep. Jimmy Panetta. “After meeting with European leaders, Ukrainian refugees, and U.S. military members, I firmly believe that the United States must continue to lead and partner with our NATO allies to support the Ukrainians with humanitarian assistance and military armaments and maintain sanctions on Russia as it wages its unprovoked and unjustified war. I look forward to continuing our work and leadership in Congress so that the United States and our NATO partners can help support the fight and will of the Ukrainian people.” Besides Rep. Panetta and Rep. Hoyer, the delegation included Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX). The trip began in Berlin, Germany, where Rep. Panetta and the delegation met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Minister for the Chancellery Wolfgang Schmidt, and other government officials. Next, the Members traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, where they discussed the latest developments on the war in Ukraine with Defense Minister Morten Bødskov, Finance Minister Nicolai Wammen, and Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. The delegation then joined Danish Officials and laid a ceremonial wreath at the Danish National Memorial to Danes who died fighting abroad, including in Afghanistan. The delegation then traveled to Warsaw, Poland, where Members met with senior Polish government officials and the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski. The Members then traveled to Rzeszow, Poland where they met with U.S. troops and commanders from the 82nd Airborne Division to talk about the transfer of armaments to Ukraine, international aid workers to discuss ways to provide effective assistance to those fleeing the war in Ukraine, and with staff from the U.S. Embassy Kyiv, who are now operating from Poland. The delegation then traveled to the Ukrainian border, stepped into Ukraine, and then met directly with refugees who had just crossed the border into Poland. On their return journey from Europe, the delegation stopped in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, where Members visited a receding glacier emblematic of the challenge of the global climate crisis.