Rep. Spartz makes latest trip to native Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion

Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) visited her native Ukraine over the weekend for at least the fourth time since Russia’s invasion began more than 100 days ago.

Spartz spent two days in Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine that has been bombed heavily by Russian forces, according to a Telegram post from Vyacheslav Chaus, an official of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration. He said she “studied the possibilities of rebuilding our city and region.”

“We have good prospects to implement them. I will tell details later,” the post added of Spartz’s visit.

Amid her trips back to the country, Spartz has pushed for Congressional oversight of all U.S. aid to Ukraine. In a statement during her third trip in May, she said Congress “must ensure taxpayer resources are reaching those in need and being used efficiently”

Spartz has long condemned Russia’s attacks and its president, Vladimir Putin.

“This is not a war,” Spartz said at the start of the invasion. “This is genocide of the Ukrainian people by a crazy man.”

“We have a president that talks … and doesn’t do things,” Spartz also said of President Biden, who has resisted calls to send fighter jets to Ukraine or impose a no-fly zone over the country.

“What is he going to do, wait until millions die? Then he’s going to do more? I mean, we have not just a moral duty, we are the leaders of the free world,” the representative said about a week into the war.

This week, the Biden administration is set to unveil a $700 million weapons package for Ukraine including long-range rocket systems. 

However, Biden previously told reporters that the U.S. was “not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia,” as there are concerns about escalating the war into a larger conflict.