photo by: AP File Photos

U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran, left, and Roger Marshall, right.

TOPEKA — U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall are part of a bipartisan 10-member entourage of senators traveling to Poland and Germany to gather information about NATO and the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, the Iowa Republican leading the delegation, scheduled meetings with top military leaders about the work of NATO allies and to learn firsthand about the “heartbreaking humanitarian impact” of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war of aggression.”

Republicans Marshall and Moran, who were in Europe on Friday, said a prime directive of the United States’ government was to protect freedom and liberty for people around the world. Kansas is the only state with two senators in this overseas delegation.

“The United States has the capability to provide further resources to Ukrainians through defensive military equipment, food aid and medical supplies to give Ukraine a fighting chance not only to survive but to win,” Moran said.

Moran was recently appointed to the Senate’s NATO Observer Group, which consists of of six Republicans and six Democrats. The panel was re-established in 2018 to better inform senators outside of national security committees about defense spending commitments of alliance members, the alliance’s counter-terrorism capability, NATO enlargement and the ability of NATO members to address nonconventional warfare.

Marshall said President Joe Biden wasn’t doing enough in terms of economic sanctions against Russia. The Kansas senator said Ukrainian forces should be given broader access to MiG-29 and A-10 fighter aircraft as well as additional drones and anti-aircraft missiles. Marshall also sponsored legislation banning U.S. purchases of Russian uranium.

“I am committed that there will be no American bloodshed in Ukraine,” Marshall said. “This has to be a war that is led by Europe. We will be standing beside and behind, but we don’t want American pilots in the airspace or American boots on the ground.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. House voted 424-8 on Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. The measure sent to the U.S. Senate would enable Biden to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods.

Biden’s directives to cut off the flow of Russian oil, gas, seafood, alcohol and diamonds to the United States has blocked an estimated 60% of Russian imports.

“We must keep in mind that the American marketplace is not something that is a right. It is a privilege for those that uphold international order,” said U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, a Kansas Republican. “Congress must make clear to the world that normal trade relations with the United States must be reserved for honest brokers that adhere to international order.”

— Tim Carpenter reports for Kansas Reflector.