After talks with Zelenskyy and Macron, US senators warn: Putin ‘is preparing for more war’

PARIS AP Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling at the peace table while preparing a new military offensive in Ukraine two senior U S senators warned Sunday arguing that the next two weeks could shape the future of a war that has already smashed cities displaced millions and redrawn Europe s precaution map Republican Sen Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen Richard Blumenthal spoke to The Associated Press in Paris after meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and touring neighborhoods shattered by what they called the worst Russian bombardments since the full-scale invasion began In Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron who they say is aligned with them on the war the senators warned the window to prevent a renewed assault is closing A sweeping U S sanctions bill could be the West s last chance to choke off the Kremlin s war business sector they revealed adding that they hope their firsthand findings will shift momentum in Washington and help bring a skeptical President Donald Trump on board What I learned on this trip was he s preparing for more war Graham mentioned of Putin Blumenthal called the sanctions proposed in regulation bone-crushing and disclosed it would place Russia s market on a pact island It is crunch time for Putin and for the world because Russia is mounting a new offensive he declared At the heart of their push is a bipartisan sanctions bill backed by nearly the entire U S Senate but still facing uncertain odds in Washington It would impose tariffs on countries that continue buying Russian oil gas uranium and other exports targeting nations like China and India that account for roughly of Russia s strength exchange and bankroll much of its war effort Graham called it the majority draconian bill I ve ever seen in my life in the Senate The world has a lot of cards to play against Putin he explained We re going to hit China and India for propping up his war machine Peace talks or stalling tactic With peace talks yielding little and Trump s approach to Ukraine highly uncertain Graham and Blumenthal have stepped into the breach blunt emissaries on a lonely mission Political opposites moving in lockstep they re traversing Europe and the aisle with the moral urgency of two men trying to forestall another Russian offensive before it s too late Peace talks are scheduled to resume Monday in Istanbul But Ukrainian leaders say Moscow has yet to submit a serious proposal a delay both senators described as deliberate and dangerous Putin is playing President Trump Blumenthal stated He s taking him for a sucker The senator commented Putin is in effect stalling and stonewalling prolonging the conversation so that he can mount this offensive and take control of more territory on the ground Graham added We saw credible evidence of a summer or early fall invasion a new offensive by Putin He s preparing for more war Trump has yet to endorse the sanctions bill telling reporters Friday I don t know I ll have to see it Graham disclosed the measure was drafted in consultation with Trump s advisers Graham backed the president s diplomatic instincts but mentioned By trying to engage Putin by being friendly and enticing it s become painfully clear he s not interested in ending this war Blumenthal hoped the bipartisan help for Ukraine at least in the Senate and the personal testimonies they plan to bring home to Congress and the Oval Office may help shift the conversation He necessities to see and hear that message as well from us from the American people he commented of Putin A moral reckoning In Kyiv the senators announced the war s human toll was impossible to ignore Graham pointed to what Ukrainian administrators and Yale researchers estimate are nearly children forcibly deported to Russia calling their return a matter of justice not diplomacy Blumenthal described standing at mass grave sites in Bucha where civilians were executed with shots to the head The destruction he disclosed and the stories of those who survived made clear the stakes of delay Putin is a thug He s a murderer Both commented that failing to act now could pull the U S deeper into conflict later If Putin isn t stopped in Ukraine Blumenthal explained NATO treaty obligations could one day compel American troops into battle They see resolve in Europe After a one-hour meeting with Macron in Paris both Graham of South Carolina and Blumenthal of Connecticut announced they left convinced Europe was ready to toughen its stance This visit has been a breakthrough moment because President Macron has shown moral clarity in his conversations with us Blumenthal noted This day he is aligned with that message that we are taking back to Washington Blumenthal pointed to the rare bipartisan unity behind the sanctions bill There are very limited causes that will take Republicans and Democrats and put them on record on a single piece of statute he revealed The cause of Ukraine is doing it Ahead Ukrainian military leaders are set to brief Congress and a sanctions vote could follow President Trump noted we ll know in two weeks whether he s being strung along Graham declared There will be more evidence of that from Russia on Monday