DENVER — Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colorado) is back home in Colorado after joining a U.S. delegation in Kyiv over the weekend to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"We were able to spend almost four hours with him and his top advisors engaging in very deep discussion," Crow said during a press call Wednesday morning.
Crow said the delegation, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, talked with Zelensky about the future of the conflict with Russia and what Ukraine needs moving forward.
“[Russian President] Vladimir Putin’s going to press this invasion," Crow said. "He’s not going to stop. He’s getting more and more desperate and more and more brutal.”
Crow, an Army veteran who sits on House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, said his conversation with Zelensky focused on specific weapons systems Ukraine needs in the fight against Russia.
“Lethal drones," Crow said. "He needs more sophisticated, longer-range drones that can target, that have sophisticated precision strike munitions and that can also return and be used multiple times and be rearmed.”
Crow said Ukraine also needs more shipments of U.S. artillery supplies and specifically, multiple launch rocket systems that can be used from long range.
"It would really have a devastating impact on the Russian military and provide Ukrainians with a new tool to defend themselves," Crow said.
The congressman added that Ukraine could use anti-ship missiles as well.
“It became very clear that we’re going to have to help Ukrainians win this militarily," Crow said. "That was the message that was very clear to us.”
The congressman called Zelensky "serious" and "somber," calling attention to his "mastery of tactics" on the battlefield.
“In a very short couple of months, [Zelensky] has become what I think will be one of history’s greatest wartime leaders," Crow said.
Crow said the delegation was clear to Zelensky that the United States would support Ukraine until the war's end.
“We can do everything short of providing boots on the ground or getting involved directly, and I think we should continue to do that," Crow said.
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