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 protection 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 economic activity they commented 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 announced of Putin Blumenthal called the sanctions proposed in decree bone-crushing and reported it would place Russia s economic system on a commerce island It is crunch time for Putin and for the world because Russia is mounting a new offensive he stated 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 resource bargain and bankroll much of its war effort Graham called it the most of draconian bill I ve ever seen in my life in the Senate The world has a lot of cards to play against Putin he announced 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 transiting 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 agents say Moscow has yet to submit a serious proposal a delay both senators described as deliberate and dangerous Putin is playing President Trump Blumenthal declared 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 stated the decree was drafted in consultation with Trump s advisers Graham backed the president s diplomatic instincts but stated 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 sponsorship 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 requirements to see and hear that message as well from us from the American people he noted of Putin A moral reckoning In Kyiv the senators announced the war s human toll was impossible to ignore Graham pointed to what Ukrainian personnel 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 mentioned and the stories of those who survived made clear the stakes of delay Putin is a thug He s a murderer Both noted that failing to act now could pull the U S deeper into conflict later If Putin isn t stopped in Ukraine Blumenthal declared 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 disclosed 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 reported In the modern 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 inadequate causes that will take Republicans and Democrats and put them on record on a single piece of ordinance he announced The cause of Ukraine is doing it Ahead Ukrainian military leaders are set to brief Congress and a sanctions vote could follow President Trump declared we ll know in two weeks whether he s being strung along Graham stated There will be more evidence of that from Russia on Monday