US senator visits Kyiv but makes no promises on Russia sanctions bill

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Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford came away from a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday praising the sophistication of Ukraine’s military, but acknowledging that he couldn’t promise President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Congress would approve long-awaited sanctions against Russia anytime soon.

“My best understanding I could pass on to him was that the House plans to take this up in September. But obviously, I don’t set the schedule on that,” Lankford said, noting that Zelenskyy urged for it to come soon. “He’s very interested in additional economic pressure on Russia, knowing that every dollar that they get, they use to be able to buy a weapon to be able to kill Ukrainians.”

Lankford spoke to POLITICO from Poland, following his two-day trip to Kyiv over the country’s independence day. He said he spoke to Zelenskyy for about 20 minutes alongside his colleague Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) backstage at a prayer breakfast.

Lankford appears to be the most prominent sitting elected Republican to make the trip to Kyiv for the annual event — particularly noteworthy after the death last month of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch Ukraine advocate. Graham had been working with Blumenthal on the sanctions package the Senate passed in early August and which the House has yet to clear.

Lankford, a longtime Ukraine supporter, pushed for the sanctions bill after Graham’s death, urging his colleagues to “finish what he started.”

Asked if he saw himself, or anyone, taking over Graham’s role as a top foreign policy hawk and Ukraine advocate with President Donald Trump, he said Graham’s work was too much for one person.

“I don’t anticipate that I’m trying to be able to step in and take that role in it by any means,” he said.

Lankford said Zelenskyy raised his repeated request that the U.S. provide Patriot interceptor missiles or grant Ukraine the right to make their own to protect against Russian missile attacks — an ask he also recently made in the Oval Office .

“He was pretty clear that he would like to have additional interceptors to be able to help — whether they’re licensed to be able to produce it or have additional they could get from our stockpile,” Lankford said. “I couldn’t give him an answer on that. So I could say ‘I could take that back,’ but obviously he’s brought that to President Trump directly.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who also traveled to Kyiv this weekend and met with Zelenskyy, told CNN on Sunday that the Ukrainian leader had asked the U.S. for about 5 percent of its Patriot inventory.

Dave Donaldson, special assistant at the White House Faith Office, visited Ukraine over the weekend as well, according to the chair of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lankford spoke the same day that John Ratcliffe, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, reportedly paid an unexpected visit to Moscow . Lankford, who sits on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, said while he was not optimistic about reaching a deal between Russia and Ukraine, he saw Ratcliffe’s trip as potentially productive.

“You have to have ongoing conversation. Things don’t get better by not talking. But right now, Russia doesn’t seem to be focused on trying to solve anything. But we’ve got to be able to find out what is the end game for them,” he said.

Both Lankford and Blumenthal addressed Ukraine’s National Prayer Breakfast on Sunday. Lankford, a Baptist minister, blessed the gathering and said, “I have seen the beating heart of liberty and the spark of faith in Ukraine,” according to remarks provided by his office.

Blumenthal’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The senator posted a video on social media from the Ukrainian capital, writing that he had said at the breakfast, “we stand with the people of Ukraine in prayer & faith, but also in action. Their fight for freedom & democracy is our fight too.“

Pence and former special envoy Keith Kellogg also attended the breakfast.

Lankford said he was returning to the U.S. impressed by Ukraine’s growing military prowess — a message he would be bringing home to Washington.

“The Ukrainian military is ahead of every other military in the world, including our own, on how we’re handling the unmanned aerial space, both for counter drone and drone offensive action,” he said. “No one in the world is doing it as effectively and producing the quantity of very cutting-edge weapons systems that they are.”