Blumenthal to Travel to Munich Security Conference

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will join a bipartisan congressional delegation led by U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

“This gathering of global leaders and security experts comes at a pivotal moment as our Ukrainian allies prepare to resist a massive Russian offensive and mount an aggressive counteroffensive this spring,” Blumenthal said. “Our bipartisan Congressional delegation will join a coalition of leaders around the world dedicated to preserving global stability and security. I am eager to discuss the extreme urgency of providing Ukraine with tanks, fighter jets, and other lethal arms necessary to win this war. The global community of democracies stands united in support of Ukraine – but we can and must hasten the speed and resources in showing that support.”

The MSC is widely considered the world’s leading forum for international security policy. The conference is a “marketplace of ideas” where initiatives and solutions are developed and opinions are exchanged. It also provides a venue for diplomatic initiatives and ideas to cooperatively address the world’s most pressing security concerns.

Members of Congress traveling to the MSC include U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and U.S. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI).

Additional information about the MSC is available here. The YouTube channel for this year’s panels and discussion is here.

Blumenthal, Graham, and Whitehouse traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine in January to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top military officials. This was Blumenthal and Graham’s second trip to Ukraine since the Russian invasion; the senators traveled to Kyiv in July to meet with President Zelenskyy and tour Bucha, where hundreds of Ukrainian citizens were massacred by Russian forces.

Blumenthal authored an op-ed in the Hartford Courant discussing his recent trip and the urgent need to support Ukraine.

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