'My Body Shows You The Price': Ukrainian Vets Make Case For Renewed Aid

A group of veterans from Ukraine’s military met with lawmakers, U.S. vets and Pentagon officials ahead of a likely Biden push to arm the embattled country.

WASHINGTON — Oleksandr Batalov, a Ukrainian army veteran, had a simple answer when asked what happens when a unit runs out of artillery shells on the battlefield.

“If we had proper artillery support in the battle where I was, I would still have my leg,” he said through an interpreter. “After the injury, I was lying on the ground for six and half hours, waiting to be evacuated.”

Batalov is part of a group of Ukrainian vets and service members who met with lawmakers, American veterans and Pentagon officials in recent days as part of a project called The Message on the Frontline. The initiative is aimed at raising awareness of the continuing war in Ukraine.

“My body shows you the price when there is lack of proper support,” Batalov said during an appearance with other vets Wednesday at the Ukraine House cultural center in Washington.

The group was in Washington at a pivotal time, as a foreign aid bill that would send about $48 billion of weapons and $8 billion in economic aid to Ukraine, which is facing shortages of artillery and ammunition, is hung up in the House because of Republican opposition.