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Large US Delegation at Munich Conference Underscores Bipartisan Support for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on the screen during the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany February 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on the screen during the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany February 17, 2023. (Reuters)
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Large US Delegation at Munich Conference Underscores Bipartisan Support for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on the screen during the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany February 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appears on the screen during the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany February 17, 2023. (Reuters)

Nearly 50 lawmakers from both major US political parties on Friday attended the start of Europe's premier annual security conference to affirm bipartisan support for US aid to Ukraine.

Four delegations of Democratic and Republican leaders and members of the Senate and House converged as one of the largest groups of US lawmakers to attend the Munich Security Conference since its inception in 1963, US officials said.

Hundreds of politicians, military officers and diplomats from around the world gathered in Munich a week before the anniversary of Russia's invasion, with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urging allies to speed up weapons deliveries.

The war has tested not only the unity of the NATO alliance and European Union, but the ability of the US parties to overcome deep policy differences.

"We are here to send a clear message to this conference and everyone around the world: the US is on a bipartisan basis totally behind the effort of help Ukraine," Mitch McConnell, the Democratic-controlled Senate's Republican minority leader, told Reuters after meeting conservative German politicians.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder said McConnell's unequivocal support for Ukraine was welcome after the uncertainty of the former President Donald Trump administration's isolationist America First policy.

"Today is a very good signal," he said.

Other prominent US lawmakers in Munich included Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Republican chairmen of the House foreign relations and intelligence committees and their Democratic Senate counterparts.

The Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in last year's mid-terms raised questions about the future of the US aid on which Kyiv depends to halt a new offensive by Russia in a war that has killed thousands and displaced millions.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy declared there would be no "blank check" for Ukraine and far-right Republicans hold that resources are needed to address other pressing problems.

Some senators share that view. On Thursday, Republican Senator Josh Hawley had urged an end to US military aid to Ukraine until the European allies increased their backing, saying sending arms to Kyiv was threatening the United States' ability to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

But Lindsey Graham, a leading advocate of aiding Ukraine, said in Munich that China would be encouraged to invade Taiwan if the United States and its European allies failed to back Ukraine.

"If you care about China and you don't get the connection between Russia, Ukraine and China, you are missing a lot," Graham told Reuters.

But Republicans and some Democrats also say President Joe Biden's administration should better explain its Ukraine policy.

The United States is Ukraine's leading military aid supplier at some $30 billion, including long-range artillery, air defense systems and advanced armored vehicles.

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Seven Dead in India Avalanche as Survivors Recall Rescue

A still image shows what the Indian Army says is a rescue operation by Indian Army members during heavy snowfall, after an avalanche struck a camp near Mana village, in a location given as Garhwal Sector, Uttarakhand state, India, in this image released on February 28, 2025. (Indian Army/Handout via Reuters)
A still image shows what the Indian Army says is a rescue operation by Indian Army members during heavy snowfall, after an avalanche struck a camp near Mana village, in a location given as Garhwal Sector, Uttarakhand state, India, in this image released on February 28, 2025. (Indian Army/Handout via Reuters)
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Seven Dead in India Avalanche as Survivors Recall Rescue

A still image shows what the Indian Army says is a rescue operation by Indian Army members during heavy snowfall, after an avalanche struck a camp near Mana village, in a location given as Garhwal Sector, Uttarakhand state, India, in this image released on February 28, 2025. (Indian Army/Handout via Reuters)
A still image shows what the Indian Army says is a rescue operation by Indian Army members during heavy snowfall, after an avalanche struck a camp near Mana village, in a location given as Garhwal Sector, Uttarakhand state, India, in this image released on February 28, 2025. (Indian Army/Handout via Reuters)

The death toll from an avalanche in northern India climbed to seven on Sunday as survivors recalled their dramatic rescue after hours buried under the snow and debris.

Rescuers recovered three bodies and were looking for the last remaining person still missing, the army said.

More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp on Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Authorities revised down the number of workers on site at the time of the avalanche from 55 to 54 after one worker, previously believed to be buried, was found to have safely made his way home before the avalanche hit.

Relief teams managed to rescue 50 workers, but among them four later died of their injuries.

Construction worker Anil, who only gave his first name, recalled his rescue hours after being buried by the avalanche.

"It was if God's angels had come to save us," Anil, who is in his late 20s, told AFP on Sunday by phone from his hospital bed.

"The way we were engulfed in snow, we had no hope of surviving."

Being alive now felt "like a dream", he said.

The army said it had airlifted a drone-based detection system to assist in its search operations.

Multiple drones and a rescue dog were also being employed.

- 'Not all made it' -

Working on a project by the Border Roads Organization, the workers were living on site in steel containers considered stronger than tents and capable of withstanding harsh weather.

Anil said many workers were fast asleep and a few others were in makeshift toilets when the avalanche struck around 6:00 am Friday.

As the ground beneath them shook, the container in which Anil and his colleagues were in began to slide down.

"At first we did not understand what was happening but when we looked out of the window of the containers, we saw piles of snow all around," he said.

"The roof of the containers was also slowly bending inwards."

Everyone started screaming for help and a few men were lucky to get out of their containers.

"But not all of them made it out and they remained trapped," he said.

- 'Like thunder' -

His colleague Vipin Kumar thought "this was the end" when he found himself unable to move as he struggled for air under the thick layer of snow.

"I heard a loud roar, like thunder ... before I could react, everything went dark," he told the Times of India newspaper.

At an altitude of more than 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), minimum temperatures in the area were down to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).

Dhan Singh Bisht said his son and nephew were alive only because of the prompt action by the relief teams.

"I am grateful to them," an overwhelmed Bisht told AFP by phone on Saturday.

Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, especially during the winter season.

Scientists say climate change is making weather events more severe, while the increased pace of development in the fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction.

In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a huge glacier chunk fell into a river, triggering flash floods.

And devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state.