U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez participated in a Zoom call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday to discuss developments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how the United States could be helpful to the Ukrainian cause.
The call was with members of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Gonzalez, D-McAllen, said that the Zoom call was also an opportunity for the representatives to discuss more possible sanctions.
“It’s just for (Zelenskyy) to know that the people of South Texas are with him. Our country is united with him against Russia, and I think the entire world is,” Gonzalez said Wednesday. “The takeaway of what he needed is that he was hoping for the U.S. to be able to help him clear the airspace, and he was asking for military equipment that I think has now recently been arranged.”
The congressman said that even though the U.S. is not able to control the airspace in Ukraine since it would be a violation of the NATO agreement, he said that the U.S. is working with Poland to deliver fighter jets to the Ukrainian military.
“We’re working with our partners in Poland to get (Ukraine) some fighter jets,” Gonzalez said. “In exchange, we’re giving the Polish some of ours. I think that’s going to be dramatically helpful. Obviously, the Ukrainians have done a lot on their own and have carried a heavy weight.
“… They certainly have delivered some punishing blows of their own with their limited capabilities against a super power. They have done a lot with a little. We just wanted to make sure they knew that we were with them.”
Further aid was offered for Ukraine in the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill, which included $13.6 billion for Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. The U.S. House was scheduled to vote on the bill Wednesday; however, as of deadline, negotiations were still ongoing.
“We’re going to continue to try to assist diplomatically and urging Russia to stand down in a very serious miscalculation that I think they’ve made,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t think they can find a way to land the plane, and I don’t think they expected virtually the entire world to unite against them.”
When asked about what resources from the Rio Grande Valley, if any, were offered to Ukraine, Gonzalez said there is currently a delegation of doctors from his congressional district who are currently in Europe to provide assistance to Ukraine.
“We have some medical support that’s been offered from a humanitarian point of view,” Gonzalez said. “And military support, we’re obviously doing that through a third party, through other methods of trying to get them the help that they need to defend themselves.”
“We have people in the Valley that have been calling us that are ready to help,” he continued. “Both veterans who have reached out to me and healthcare providers who said, ‘Hey, we’re ready to go.’ So clearly, the support for Ukraine is overwhelming not only in the Rio Grande Valley, but across the country.”
Gonzalez added that Zelenskyy responded very positively to the show of support from the representatives on the Zoom call.
“He’s determined to defend his country to the end and not surrender,” Gonzalez said. “He’s clearly a patriot for Ukraine, and he’s an admirable leader to the world. I think it’s an example to western democracies.”
The congressman added that he is currently working to coordinate additional meetings with Zelenskyy through the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova in order to make sure that the U.S. is able to provide as much assistance as needed without violating any international agreements or breaching any commitments to NATO.
“It was a very positive call,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously he’s in a very difficult situation, but we clearly communicated that we are supportive. I know that South Texas is very supportive of him due to the overwhelming calls that we’ve received to our congressional office. We intend to stay in close touch and assure that any resources we can provide be helpful to President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people is available.”
