Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) shakes hands with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) shakes hands with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday. / Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Updated May 14, 2022 at 2:26 PM ET

LVIV, Ukraine — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joins a list of U.S. leaders who have visited Ukraine, heading a delegation of four Republican senators to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy described Saturday's visit as "a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine from the United States Congress."

Sens. Susan Collins, John Cornyn and John Barrasso joined McConnell on this trip, which came amid a hold-up in the Senate over a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine.

Other top U.S. officials to have met with Zelenskyy in Ukraine include:

  • Secretary of State Antony Blinken
  • Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

The meeting took place as Zelenskyy's government announced it had forced Russian troops away from the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv.

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