Originally published in the Daily Local.
As tensions in Eastern Europe continue to boil over a possible Russian military incursion and U.S. embassy personnel in Ukraine begin to depart the capital city there, Chester County’s only congressional representative is making her way to that nation.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s office announced that the member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee had departed Washington along with a bipartisan congressional delegation headed to Brussels, Belgium and Kyiv, Ukraine.

“As a member of both the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, it is my responsibility to conduct oversight on matters of national security,” said Houlahan, D-6th, of Easttown, an Air Force veteran. “This trip will enable the Congress to strengthen relationships with our allies, and I look forward to the valuable insight meeting with senior Ukrainian officials will provide.”

The bipartisan delegation includes Foreign Affairs Chairman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), and Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI), Ami Bera (D-CA), Colin Allred (D-TX), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Mark Green (R-TN), August Pfluger (R-TX), Mikie Sherill (D-NJ), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN).

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s leaders sought Tuesday to reassure the nation that an invasion from neighboring Russia was not imminent, even as they acknowledged the threat is real and received a shipment of U.S. military equipment to shore up their defenses.

Moscow has denied it is planning an assault, but it has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine in recent weeks and is holding military drills at multiple locations in Russia. That has led the United States and its NATO allies to rush to prepare for a possible war.

Several rounds of high-stakes diplomacy have failed to yield any breakthroughs, and tensions escalated further this week. NATO said it was bolstering its deterrence in the Baltic Sea region, and the U.S. ordered 8,500 troops on higher alert for potential deployment to Europe as part of an alliance “response force” if necessary. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said he is prepared to send troops to protect NATO allies in Europe.

The U.S. and its allies have vowed to hit Russia with sanctions like never before if Moscow sends its military into Ukraine but they have provided few details, saying it’s best to keep President Vladimir Putin guessing.

The U.S. State Department has ordered the families of all American personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv to leave the country, and it said that nonessential embassy staff could leave. Britain said it, too, was withdrawing some diplomats and dependents from its embassy, and families of Canadian diplomatic staff also have been told to leave.

According to Houlahan’s office, in Brussels the delegation will meet with representatives from NATO, the European Union (EU), and NATO and EU member states to discuss the security situation in Eastern Europe and the buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border and in Belarus.

In Kyiv, the delegation will meet with senior Ukrainian officials to discuss the security situation and reinforce U.S. support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Authorities there have sought to project calm in order not to destabilize the situation and avoid panic — and many citizens have expressed skepticism that there will be an invasion soon.

In parliament, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that “as of today, there are no grounds to believe” that Russia is preparing to invade imminently, noting that its troops have not formed what he called a battle group that could force its way through the border.

“Don’t worry, sleep well,” he said. “No need to have your bags packed.”

Russia has said Western accusations it is planning an attack are merely a cover for NATO’s own planned provocations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday once again accused the U.S. of “fomenting tensions” around Ukraine, a former Soviet state that has been locked in a conflict with Russia for almost eight years.

In the latest standoff, Russia wants guarantees from the West that NATO will never admit Ukraine as a member and that the alliance would curtail other actions, such as stationing troops in former Soviet bloc countries. Some of these, like the membership pledge, are nonstarters for NATO, creating a seemingly intractable stalemate that many fear can only end in a war.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of massing troops near rebel-controlled regions in the east, aiming to retake them by force — accusations Kyiv has rejected.

Analysts say Ukraine’s leaders are caught between trying to calm the nation and ensuring it gets sufficient assistance from the West in case of an invasion.

As part of a new $200 million in security assistance directed to Ukraine from the United States, a shipment including equipment and munitions arrived Tuesday in Ukraine, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.

The U.S. moves are being done in tandem with actions by other NATO members to bolster a defensive presence in Eastern Europe. Denmark is sending a frigate and F-16 warplanes to Lithuania; Spain is sending four fighter jets to Bulgaria and three ships to the Black Sea to join NATO naval forces, and France stands ready to send troops to Romania.

Biden’s national security team has been working with several European nations, the European Commission, and suppliers around the globe to develop contingency plans if Russia were to cut off energy supplies, according to two senior administration officials who briefed reporters about efforts to mitigate spillover effects from a potential military action. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the deliberations.

If needed, Europe would look to natural gas supplies in North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the United States. The effort would require “rather smaller volumes from a multitude of sources” to make up for a Russian cutoff, according to one official.

Houlahan represents all of Chester County and portions of southern Berks County, including the city of Reading.