Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared to imply Ukraine is not a dangerous war zone because Pelosi and McConnell visited the country
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Saturday implied Ukraine was safe because Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi visited.
- Ukraine has been a war zone since February 24, when Russian forces invaded.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Saturday suggested that the war zone in Ukraine is not dangerous because the leaders of the House and Senate visited the country.
"Notice U.S. elected politicians like [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] visited and [Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell] can go visit Zelensky in Ukraine without bullet proof vests/helmets or any fear from dangers of war, while they eagerly give billions to fund their proxy war w/ Russia," Greene wrote on Twitter.
McConnell and other GOP senators met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday. Prior to this visit, Democrats had largely been reported visiting Ukraine or Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Jill Biden, in a rare trip, entered Ukraine last weekend and held a Mother's Day meeting with Zelenskyy's wife, Olena Zelenska. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also made a surprise visit to Zelenskyy in Kyiv in early May, during which Zelenskyy was escorted out by an armed guard, as shown in a video of the event.
"If the conditions in Ukraine were so grave to warrant the U.S. sending $54 billion, then our highest ranking leaders would not be able to go," she continued. "But conditions at our own U.S. border are out of control warranting billions of funding, however there is baby formula there."
Greene, in her tweets, showed a video of McConnell meeting Zelenskyy. It's unclear if anyone is wearing a bulletproof vest underneath their clothes, but the video shows armed guards around them.
Since Russia first entered Ukraine on February 24, Ukrainians have escaped the country en masse. So far, more than 6.1 million Ukrainians have fled their homeland since the beginning of the invasion, according to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency. In the first week alone, more than 1 million Ukrainians left.
Ukrainians who spoke to Insider during the invasion have painted a grim picture of the devastation, describing hearing missiles fire through the sky in the dead of night, sharing a single bulletproof vest as Russian soldiers tore through their towns, and witnessing troops shooting at homes and hospitals.
Greene has struck down nearly every single bill passed in Congress in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Insider's Bryan Metzger reported.
In the months that the Russian invasion has been ongoing, Congress has put together at least 19 bills in response to the conflict. Among the measures was an allocation of $40 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, which received 57 no votes from Republican representatives, including Greene.
The $40 billion legislation would be the second federal aid package approved for Ukraine by Congress. In March, Congress approved a $13.6 billion package but funds have quickly depleted in Ukraine. If second package passes in Congress, the US will have sent $54 billion in aid to Ukraine since the start of the invasion.