KYIV – A group of five U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) paid an unexpected visit to Ukraine on the same day that the Russian operator of a controversial natural-gas pipeline announced that it had completed the final stages of welding it together.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other high-level officials to reinforce their bicameral legislature’s bipartisan support for the country’s national security.