JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Members of the Ukrainian Parliament are making stops across the country to drum up support for more military aid in the war against Russia.
Maryan Zablotskyy and Roman Lozynskyi visited Jacksonville this week. They traveled all the way from Ukraine with the goal of having honest conversations about what is going on in Ukraine and the need for more help from their allies.
"It's important to work in regions, districts, and states to share information about our accountability and transparency of funds to the taxpayers of America because we already got a lot of support, and we still need it,” Lozynskyi explained.
The delegation sat down with business leaders and lawmakers, including representatives from the offices of Congressmen Aaron Bean and John Rutherford, and Senator Marco Rubio. They also met with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and visited Miami to speak with leaders there. Lozynskyi said they wanted to show these leaders how their support for more aid would help.
"It's not about money. It's not about cash. It's about weapons which are manufactured here,” Lozynskyi said.
President Joe Biden is asking for more than $60 billion to send to Ukraine. Zablotskyy and Lozynskyi said part of that money will help replenish military equipment and weapons. It will also supplement pensions for Ukrainians.
Lawmakers are divided over this price tag. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has criticized the amount of money the U.S. has sent to Ukraine. Zablotskyy said he understands their concerns.
"I do know that Republicans have always reminded us that this is taxpayer's money, and this is not government money. And I completely agree with that. I just want to say that it's a very good investment. And still, it repays to the U.S. a lot because even though it's measured in billions, in fact, this is almost never money that is actually disbursed to Ukraine," Zablotskyy explained.
Lozynskyi said the money is used to free up American equipment and weapons which in turn helps the American companies that manufacture them.
The war in Ukraine is still raging on with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the fighting is entering a new stage this winter. Both men hope this visit to the Sunshine State will secure the support needed to win against Russia.
"We are very grateful for the aid that was received. It's not calculated in billions of dollars. For us, it's calculated in the hundreds of thousands of lives, and probably millions that were saved in Ukraine,” Zablotskyy said.