I’m pleased that the White House has listened to bipartisan calls and is appointing a Ukraine Security Assistance Coordinator to help us expedite military assistance to Ukraine.

While Ukraine has taken important steps to regain control of their country, the fight is not over – Russia’s renewed offensive continues to represent an existential threat to Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, and it is essential the U.S. is able to move quickly to cut the red tape, synchronize our efforts across the interagency and provide Ukraine with the tools necessary to win this war.

Together with Sens. Shaheen, Wicker and Durbin, I called on the Biden administration to bring on a coordinator to do just this and I am glad that the administration has headed that call.

As the U.S. continues to send a historic amount of assistance to our ally Ukraine, we’ve seen the importance of doing so in a swift and decisive manner and this move today with allow us to do just that.

Rob Portman is a Republican and the junior U.S. senator representing Ohio. His office can be reached at 212-224-3353.