Ukraine Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Kaptur trusts Biden’s approach
LORAIN, Ohio — Ohio’s largest Ukrainian population is in the city of Parma, which is in Marcy Kaptur’s northern Ohio congressional district.
What You Need To Know
- Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur met with President Biden as he visited Lorain on Thursday
- While the focus of the trip was Great Lakes funding, Kaptur, who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, got to speak with Biden about the ongoing crisis abroad
- Ohio’s largest Ukrainian population is in Parma, which Kaptur represents
- She remains confident in Biden’s approach to helping Ukraine as Russian threats remain
On Thursday, as President Joe Biden traveled to Lorain to tout the infrastructure law investing in the Great Lakes, Kaptur (D, OH-9) had the chance to meet with Biden and both commend him for the funding and advocate for her Ukrainian constituents.
“I think that no president in recent history has had the type of depth of knowledge that President Joe Biden has about central Europe,” Kaptur told Spectrum News on Wednesday. “And he was a child of the Cold War, as I, and we know what Russia is capable of.”
Kaptur said her office has been hearing from constituents on many levels as Russia threatens to invade.
In 2014, Kaptur, who co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, traveled to Ukraine with then-Vice President Biden.
Today, she is supportive of Biden’s approach, as president, to threaten Russia with economic sanctions but to keep U.S. troops out of Ukraine.
Kaptur said she’s “heartened” by Biden’s handling of the crisis so far.
She had a message for Ohioans who may question why the U.S. should be involved in protecting Ukraine.
“It’s in America’s interests not to be alone in the world,” Kaptur said. “And to make sure that the institutions of freedom — and those involve the law, business, education, media, on so many levels — that those who believe that people have a value, individual freedom, the ability to own a business, the ability to become what you wish, and not be told what to do, because of where you live, the ability to have a security umbrella over you for the political system that the people of your nation have suffered for in prior generations.”
Kaptur said she was asked to travel to Ukraine this week to meet with leaders as the threat from Russia remains, but once Biden announced he would visit her district, she prioritized meeting with him and relaying what she’s hearing from her constituents.
Read More: Ukraine Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Kaptur trusts Biden’s approach