With an air raid alert in force over Kyiv because of the threat from ‘Shahed’ drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky met a bipartisan US Congressional delegation on 9 October 2026 to press for tougher sanctions on Russia and faster production of Patriot interceptors. The delegation comprised Senators Roger Wicker and Kevin Cramer, and Representatives Marc Veasey and Dan Crenshaw.
Zelensky urged the lawmakers to enforce the Lindsey Graham sanctions law, which he said should cut financial flows to Russia’s war machine. “Of course, we expect the Lindsey Graham Act to be enacted. This is a matter of political will, and it is now important to show leadership and completely cut off financial flows to the Russian war machine.”
He also called for joint production of Patriot interceptors to be accelerated. Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to make ballistic interceptors for its own defence and to strengthen the United States and its allies through joint production.
The appeal came as Russian attacks have hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Since the beginning of October, Russian drones have damaged two schools in Kyiv and strikes have hit bridges, energy infrastructure and other critical infrastructure. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in recent Russian attacks.
There have also been constant attacks on energy and life-sustaining infrastructure in Dnipro, Kharkiv and Odesa. This past week, a Russian missile struck a residential building in Pryluky and aerial bombs were dropped on ordinary city buses in Kramatorsk.
“We can only defend ourselves against this terror by working together, and we discussed how the United States can help save lives,” Zelensky said.
The sanctions request sits alongside a competing development in Washington’s approach to Moscow. President Donald Trump struck a diesel deal with Vladimir Putin that could give Moscow fresh revenue to sustain its invasion.
Zelensky described any easing of sanctions against Russia without a clear and lasting de-escalation agreement as an “obvious weakness”. He said such a step would allow Russia “to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world”.
The Graham bill has been sent to Trump for his signature and remains there. Senior Democratic and Republican representatives in the US Senate have called on Trump to impose the sanctions set out in the bill.
Zelensky said Russia was escalating the conflict because it had failed to achieve what it wanted on the battlefield. “This year, Russia is weaker on the battlefield than at any other point in the war,” he said.
He thanked the United States for its unwavering support. Zelensky also said Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries were a response to Russia’s years-long campaign of terror against Ukraine’s energy sector.
Comments (0)