Senate Dems visit Odesa for up-close look at war in Ukraine
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Sens. Chris Coons, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jeanne Shaheen and Richard Blumenthal in Odesa, Ukraine. Photo courtesy of Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Four Democratic U.S. senators made an unannounced trip to Odesa, Ukraine, marking the first congressional visit to the Black Sea port since the war began nearly four years ago.
Why it matters: Led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the lawmakers used the trip to get on-the-ground briefings on the war and to call for Congress to pass new sanctions on Russia.
- "It is long past due for President Trump to tighten sanctions on Russia, provide security assistance for Ukraine and exert real pressure on Russia," Shaheen said in a statement. "If the president refuses to act, Congress must."
- "One of the things we heard wherever we stopped today was that the people of Ukraine want a peace deal," Shaheen told reporters on a call from Ukraine.
- "But they want a peace deal that preserves their sovereignty, that recognizes the importance of Ukraine's territorial integrity."
Driving the news: Shaheen, along with Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) traveled to Ukraine after the Munich Security Conference.
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) was scheduled to join them but didn't make the one-day trip to Ukraine.
- The senators have since left the country and are now in Moldova.
Zoom out: Two days of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ended in Geneva on Wednesday without concrete progress toward ending the war.
- Ahead of the negotiations, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios that the Ukrainian people would reject a peace deal requiring Ukraine to unilaterally withdraw from the eastern Donbas region and turn it over to Russia.
- Zelensky entered the talks more pessimistic than U.S. negotiators and emerged from them in a similar mood — accusing Russia of trying to stall.
Between the lines: Throughout 2025, the Senate has threatened to pass a punishing sanctions bill targeting Russia that would impose secondary tariffs of up to 500% on countries that buy Russian oil.
- But whenever a diplomatic breakthrough between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared possible, Senate GOP leaders pulled back from scheduling the legislation for a vote.
- Shaheen has said on numerous occasions that Putin is playing Trump "like a fiddle."
Zoom in: As talks have faltered, Congress has tried to signal that it remains serious about imposing economic costs on Russia, with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passing three targeted bills in October.
- One would label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism over kidnapped Ukrainian children.
- Another would impose economic penalties on China for its support of Russia's war effort.
- A third bill repurposes frozen Russian assets held in the U.S. and transfers them to Ukraine every 90 days.
