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Schumer was part of a delegation of five Democratic senators
that held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the
western Ukrainian city of Lviv on the eve of the second
anniversary of Russia's invasion of its neighbor.
"We have been told by President Zelenskiy, we have been told by
American and Ukrainian officials ... that without the aid
Ukraine will lose the war," Schumer told a news conference.
"We are here to talk directly to Speaker (Mike) Johnson. We are
going to do all we can to tell him what we have learned and,
frankly, pressure him to do the right thing."
The Senate last week passed a $95.34 billion military aid
package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. President Joe Biden has
urged the House to approve it, but Johnson sent members home for
a two-week recess without bringing the measure up for a vote.
On Friday, House aides said Democrats had begun laying the
groundwork for a potential bid to sidestep Johnson and force a
vote on the security assistance package.
Johnson is an ally of Republican former President Donald Trump
and voted against assisting Ukraine before he became speaker.
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address issued after the talks,
said the aid package was "fundamental to our defense both in
terms of its contents and the message it sends to the world".
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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