READOUT: Ranking Member Shaheen, Colleagues' Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

NEW YORK CITY - Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Peter Welch (D-VT) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the 2026 United Nations General Assembly High Level Week.

Ranking Member Shaheen reaffirmed strong bipartisan support for Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and commended the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people. The Senator and President Zelenskyy discussed Russia's escalating attacks against Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure, as well as Ukraine's urgent air-defense, energy-resilience and security needs ahead of the winter. UN monitors reported that civilian casualties during the first eight months of 2026 exceeded the total for all of 2025, with long-range missiles and drones remaining the leading cause of civilian casualties in August.

The Senator highlighted the newly enacted Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act and emphasized the importance of imposing meaningful costs on Russia's energy sector, shadow fleet and foreign enablers. She underscored that any negotiated settlement must include Ukraine as the central party in decisions about its future and be backed by strong, binding U.S. and transatlantic security guarantees that deter renewed Russian aggression.

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