Ukraine lawmaker Anastasia Radina pleads with US Congress for more aid in fight against Russia

Anastasia Radina, a Ukrainian parliament member, is on a mission to lobby US politicians for additional aid as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.

Radina met with members of Congress in Washington, DC, and described and demonstrated the dire situation on the ground.

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“We are receiving a lot of support and we also are glad to hear that, there is an understanding that action is needed and not just words, but we are calling for this action to happen immediately,” During her meeting with fellow Ukrainian parliament members this week, she told CNN.

“Right now it is Ukraine who is fighting for every inch of NATO territory. We are now shielding NATO from war crazy dictator who has no respect for any rule of law, any international rule of law. We are now dying for NATO values, for US values and we’re asking for support for these values in action,” Radina said.

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 “A bit,” Radina said, when asked if she was frustrated. “But we are also very much determined to fight until the end because that’s basically our only choice.”

Radina’s decision to travel to the United States was difficult. She was leaving behind a two-year-old kid and an elderly father. Radina told CNN that when she visits DC, she uses an app on her phone to monitor air raid warnings. She stated that the app had notified her of a couple of air raid warnings. “It’s probably one of the most terrifying experiences in my life.”

Radina said that “As a mother, I feel guilty, but I also have a duty to speak on behalf of all Ukrainian mothers…as privileged as I am to spread the message across the world about what is happening in Ukraine and what kind of support Ukraine needs to stop that.”

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During her visit to Congress, Radina took a binder loaded with images of Ukraine’s awful circumstances, including one particularly heartbreaking image of a mother in Mariupol lamenting the death of her 19-month-old child, who died as a result of shelling.

Radina became teary-eyed as she described the situation. “He was shelled in Mariupol, if I’m not mistaken. They managed to get him to a hospital but there’s nothing the doctors could do,” she elaborated.

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“I cannot look at this picture without tears because what I think of when I look at this picture is my son who is staying in Ukraine right now,” Radina said.