U.S. Senator Katie Britt Advocates for Return of Ukrainian Children Kidnapped by Russia

'You cannot be a great nation if you are unwilling to do good'

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the abduction of Ukrainian children by the Russian federation. Senator Britt and her colleagues Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) have been vocal advocates for the return of over 19,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia since the beginning of the war. The Senators introduced the Designating the Russian Federation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism Act to exert maximum pressure on Russia to safely return the children they took.

Senator Britt spoke about the mass kidnapping of Ukrainian children, saying, "I hope that this goes to the heart of every parent across our nation, every one. I mean, think about your child being ripped from your arms. Think about not knowing where your kids are on their birthday or milestones or tragic experiences."

The Senator issued a call for decisive action: "Look, I think allowing this to occur as a nation, it goes against the very fabric of who we are as a country … I join you in asking our European allies to step up

and to do the very same thing that we're doing today, but we are here today because America must do something. And you cannot be a great nation if you are unwilling to do good. And there is no doubt that these kids need us. They need us to raise our voice."

In her remarks, she also recognized First Lady Melania Trump's leadership in the effort to reunite Ukrainian children with their families: "I want to thank the First Lady for her tireless effort on this. Senator Graham, I want to thank you, Senator Blumenthal, (and) Senator Klobuchar. (I) stand with you in bringing every one of these kids home and appreciate this. And I think we have a moral obligation to keep this going until we get every last one of them back into their parents' arms."

You can watch Senator Britt's full remarks here.

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