Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, listens to a meeting between the Senate faction of Ukraine and members of the Ukrainian and Polish parliaments in the US Capitol on Wednesday, March 30. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
A delegation of Ukrainian lawmakers visiting Washington, DC on Wednesday said they believe Russia is using the peace talks with Ukraine only as a “veil” for its armed forces to regroup and strategize in Ukraine .
“At this particular moment, these peace talks are far from real negotiations,” Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, told a small group of reporters at a event hosted by the German Marshall Fund Round table think tank.
“Definitely I think Putin is using this as an excuse to buy time to regroup… and send false, mendacious messages to the whole world,” she said.
“We believe that these are not real peace talks at this time,” said MP Anastasia Radina, who heads the parliament’s anti-corruption policy committee. “We have the feeling that Russia is trying to save face. They say they are withdrawing troops from the Kyiv region. That’s not true for one simple reason. You don’t retreat. … They were kicked out.”
Radina said there was only “one way out of the war, and that is for Ukraine to win.”
Her comments came a day after Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had decided to “drastically reduce” hostilities around Kyiv and Chernihiv. US officials, including President Joe Biden, remain skeptical of the announcement.
“We’ll see,” Biden said Tuesday when asked about Russia’s claims. “I don’t read anything into it until I see what their actions are. We will see if they implement their proposal.”
More weapons needed: Ukraine’s military is seeking foreign aid to procure reconnaissance and attack drones, tactical radars, anti-drone electronic warfare systems and close air support aircraft, according to Ukraine’s latest needs list presented to Congress.
The list, delivered to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and obtained by CNN, also includes assistance in treating wounded troops and repairing equipment, including mobile military medical hospitals, repairing armored vehicles in neighboring countries and aircraft used to transport weapons.
Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday that the latest list presented to Congress this week reflects the “urgent needs” of Ukraine’s military and civilian leaders. At the top of the priority list of 17 items were reconnaissance and attack drones, including “switchblade” drones, which are small so-called kamikaze or suicide drones that carry a warhead and explode on impact.
The list also included fighter aircraft – specifically referring to the Su-25, a Russian-made ground-attack aircraft similar to the US-made A-10 Warthog. The Ukrainian military is also looking for artillery systems, surface-to-air missile systems, Javelin anti-tank missiles, anti-ship missiles and optical surveillance equipment.
Ukraine’s all-female delegation — men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave Ukraine in the midst of war — traveled primarily to Washington this week, they say, to appeal to American lawmakers and administrators for more military support, which they said it still falls far short of Ukraine’s needs.
“Right action for Ukraine right now, for supporting Ukraine right now would be weapons,” Radina said. “Ukraine constantly demands weapons, and not only defensive ones, but also offensive ones. In our situation, this distinction between defensive and offensive is frankly humiliating. In our situation, all weapons are defensive because we are defending our country.”
Radina reiterated that Ukraine needs fighter jets, “because that’s how we can actually stop bombings. … And as of now, that’s the issue on the table, and as long as it’s on the table, people will continue to suffer.”
“Our ‘humanitarian aid’ is weapons,” MP Maria Ionova said. “To minimize these casualties and casualties, we must defend our air. Freedom must be armed. And so our main message here is please, help us defend our future and the future of the democratic world.”
“Neutrality is not an option for Ukraine”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signaled that Ukraine could be ready to renounce NATO membership and commit to neutrality if the West gives Ukraine solid security guarantees. But such a move would have to be put to a referendum – and Klympush-Tsintsadze indicated that anything but NATO membership should be rejected.
“Neutrality is not an option for Ukraine,” she said.
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