Delegation visited Kyiv, Bucha, Kharkiv, and Dnipro to see firsthand the conditions in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (June 13, 2025) – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) led a bipartisan delegation of Congressional staffers to Ukraine where they visited Kyiv, Bucha, Kharkiv, and Dnipro to meet with policymakers, religious leaders, civil society representatives, and citizens to gain a deeper understanding of conditions in Ukraine more than three years after Russia’s full scale invasion, and to discuss securing Ukraine a just and lasting peace.
The mission began in Bucha, to visit the Wall of Remembrance in honor of the 509 Ukrainians murdered by Russians who occupied the city in March 2022. An orthodox priest welcomed the delegation into his church, which had been bombed by Russia and displays photographic evidence of Russian war crimes, including the bodies of civilians and children.
In Kharkiv, the delegation visited an underground school, walked through residential areas with decimated apartments and schools, and met with religious leaders. Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubovwelcomed the delegation to discuss the extensive damage of Russia’s ongoing attacks on the community as well as the efforts to rebuild and protect civilians. In Dnipro, the delegation visited Mechnikov Hospital, one of the busiest combat trauma centers in the world, to speak with surgeons and staff working in extraordinarily difficult conditions. The chief of the trauma unit showed the group security camera footage of a missile flying directly into the hospital and described how surgeons had to keep working with bombed out windows and no electricity.
The trip concluded in Kyiv where U.S. staffers met with members of parliament, civil society leaders, government officials, U.S. diplomats, and former senior officials to learn more about the societal, reconstruction and recovery, and military challenges facing Ukraine and how the international community can help. The delegation learned details about the global nature of the war, with China, North Korea, and Iran directly supporting Russia in return for modern warfare intelligence and materiel.
“Children have been the greatest victims of Russia’s ungodly war. We walked past several schools in Kharkiv, including a kindergarten, that had been intentionally bombed into rubble by Russia. We visited an underground school where children must study in bunkers with no daylight because it is not safe for them above ground. The 20,000 Ukrainian children whom Russia stole must be returned,” said McCain Institute Senior Director for Global Democracy Programs Laura Thornton.
Learn more about the McCain Institute’s Global Democracy Program here.
About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights and freedom, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.