Bipartisan Senators Urge Trump: Do Not Bring Putin to Miami

A bipartisan group of 14 US senators is urging President Donald Trump to withdraw his invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the December G20 summit in Miami, warning that welcoming the Kremlin leader to US soil risks legitimizing Moscow while Russia continues its full-scale war against Ukraine. In a sharply worded Sept. 24 letter, the lawmakers said Putin “bears sole responsibility” for launching the invasion and argued that his participation in the summit would come as Russian forces continue striking Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day,” the senators wrote. The bipartisan push was led by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The letter was also signed by Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Michael Bennet, Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Jerry Moran, Tim Kaine, Thom Tillis, John Curtis, Ruben Gallego and Alan Armstrong. The senators also pointed to Russia’s military cooperation with Iran and what they described as hybrid operations across Europe, arguing that Washington should maintain political and economic pressure on Moscow rather than offer Putin a prominent international platform. Other Topics of Interest ArcelorMittal Shuts Plant in Kryvyi Rih Due to Russian Strikes, Expects $1B Impairment Charge Over the past five weeks, five people have been killed and 17 injured in four Russian missile attacks on the plant. They further urged the Trump administration to prevent sanctioned senior Russian officials from entering the US for G20-related events. The congressional pressure comes as Washington simultaneously pursues renewed diplomacy over the war. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States has proposed a new trilateral meeting at the technical level involving Ukraine, the US and Russia, with the United Arab Emirates floated as a possible venue. Putin, however, cast doubt on whether Moscow would resume negotiations. Speaking Friday, he said Russia would reconsider its position following recent Ukrainian strikes inside Russia and claimed Moscow would decide its next steps according to what it sees as Russian interests. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.