COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Portman for Senate campaign on October 18 released a Ukrainian-language radio ad that highlights the Ohio senator’s work with the Ukrainian community.
The ad copy (translated into English) reads in part: “As co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, Rob Portman is standing up for Ukraine in the United States Senate. Portman is leading the fight to condemn the Russian-backed separatist attacks, and he supports providing Ukraine with the necessary lethal weapons to defend itself.”
The advertisement also notes that the Republican senator is endorsed by the Ukrainian Civic League. The senator’s campaign said the ad will be run on targeted shows in Cleveland through Election Day.
The campaign also pointed out in a news release that later that week Sen. Portman was to receive the Shevchenko Freedom Award from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. It also cites the senator’s role as a leader in the congressional effort to increase military assistance to Ukraine to ensure it can defend its sovereign borders against escalating Russian aggression and notes that the senator “has held no less than 14 meetings with groups from the Ukrainian/Eastern European community in just the last three years.”
The radio ad coincides with advertising in local Ukrainian newspapers. In addition, Portman for Senate advertisements have been placed in The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, the Ukrainian radio ad is Sen. Portman’s second foreign-language ad; he has also released a TV ad in Spanish.