US lawmakers look to boost Ukraine, sanction Russia, sources say

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Monday to bolster Ukraine in its war with Russia, another effort to pressure the Trump administration to back the Kyiv government, sources familiar with the effort said.

Representative Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the Ukraine Support Act, which would provide security and reconstruction funding for Ukraine and impose steep sanctions on Russia, according to a copy of the bill seen by Reuters.

The bill, which has not yet been made public, was filed two weeks after Republicans and Democrats in the Senate introduced stiff sanctions that would be imposed on Russia if it refuses to engage in good-faith peace negotiations with Ukraine.

The efforts in Congress reflect increasing concern among lawmakers from both parties about Ukraine's fate, as Republican President Donald Trump has taken a more conciliatory stance toward Moscow since starting his second term on January 20.

Trump, who is trying to broker a peace agreement, has repeatedly blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the three-year-old conflict even though it began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He did so again on Monday, with a complaint about Kyiv asking for missiles.

Congressional aides who helped write the House bill said their goal was to influence negotiations on any Ukraine-related legislation eventually passed by Congress. Parts of the bill were expected to appear in any final broad Ukraine package even if the measure itself cannot find a way forward in the Republican-majority House.

"This bill obviously will be part of the legislative conversation," one said.

The effort was given additional urgency on Sunday, when two Russian ballistic missiles hit the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy as residents attended Palm Sunday church services. Kyiv said the attack killed 34 people and wounded 117, dozens of them civilians.

Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian commanding officers in the city.

ADMINISTRATION AT ODDS?

Trump administration officials have been increasingly at odds over how to settle the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Reuters has reported, with some suggesting Ukraine should cede territory to Russia and others favoring more direct support to Ukraine.

The House bill is divided into three sections and would provide more support than the Ukraine legislation in the Senate.

The first affirms support for Ukraine and NATO and includes measures to help Ukraine rebuild, including creating the position of a special coordinator for Ukraine reconstruction.

The second provides security assistance for Kyiv, including direct loans and military financing, and the third would impose stiff sanctions and export controls on Russia, including on financial institutions, oil and mining and Russian officials.

While many members of Congress from both parties have strongly supported Ukraine during the three-year conflict, many of Trump's closest Republican allies have grown cooler since his party took control of the House two years ago, and then the White House and Senate in January.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Cynthia Osterman)