[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 559 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 559
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to
the journalists and news staff who are risking injury and death, are
subject to grave threat, and have sacrificed their lives, to chronicle
and report on the ongoing war in Ukraine resulting from the Russian
Federation's invasion.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 29, 2022
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to
the journalists and news staff who are risking injury and death, are
subject to grave threat, and have sacrificed their lives, to chronicle
and report on the ongoing war in Ukraine resulting from the Russian
Federation's invasion.
Whereas Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991,
and that independence was reaffirmed in a popular referendum on December
1, 1991;
Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian military invaded the sovereign
country of Ukraine under the direction of President of the Russian
Federation Vladimir Putin (referred to in this preamble as ``Putin''),
carrying out attacks on cities with ballistic missiles, heavy artillery,
and tanks;
Whereas Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions includes the Protection of Victims
of International Armed Conflicts, prohibiting attacks on civilian
persons and populations, and defines journalists and war correspondents
as civilians;
Whereas the Russian Federation was an original signatory to the Geneva
Conventions until Putin removed the Russian Federation from Protocol in
October 2019, demonstrating a clear disregard for innocent life;
Whereas, as of March 29, 2022, thousands of civilians, including children, are
recorded as having been killed during the Russian Federation's invasion
of Ukraine;
Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground in Ukraine, reporting
freelance, reporting for global networks and media, and working on
documentary efforts to record the ongoing humanitarian crisis and war
caused by the Russian Federation's invasion of the sovereign country of
Ukraine;
Whereas many of the journalists and news staff covering the war in Ukraine are
United States citizens or working for United States news agencies;
Whereas shelling by Russian Federation forces has included the shelling of
humanitarian corridors, maternity hospitals, schools, and other
primarily civilian locations;
Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground along Russian-targeted
humanitarian corridors and in major cities across Ukraine;
Whereas dozens of members of the free press have been murdered or injured by
Russian Federation forces as of March 29, 2022, with more casualties and
injuries likely;
Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Stefan Weichert was shot and
wounded while reporting near Okhtyrka, Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Emil Filtenborg was shot and
wounded while reporting near Okhtyrka, Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News chief correspondent Stuart
Ramsay was shot and wounded when his car was ambushed by Russian
soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News camera operator Richie Mockler
was shot and wounded when his car was ambushed by Russian soldiers in
Kyiv, Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 1, 2022, Ukrainian-based journalist and camera operator
Yevhenii Sakun was killed when Russian Federation forces shelled a
television tower in Kyiv, Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 6, 2022, Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet was wounded and
robbed by Russia soldiers who shot at his car on the road to Mykolaiv,
Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 13, 2022, United States documentarian and film director Brent
Renaud was shot in Irpin, Ukraine, and later died of his wounds;
Whereas, on March 13, 2022, United States journalist Juan Arredondo was shot and
wounded while reporting in Irpin, Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Ukrainian Fox News journalist Oleksandra Sasha
Kuvshinova was killed in Horenka, Ukraine, when her vehicle was struck
by incoming arms fire;
Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Irish Fox News cameraman and photographer Pierre
Zakrzewski was killed in Horenka, Ukraine, when his vehicle was struck
by incoming arms fire;
Whereas, on March 15, 2022, United States Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall
was wounded when his vehicle was struck by incoming arms fire in
Horenka, Ukraine;
Whereas it is possible that additional Ukrainian and foreign press have been or
will be injured and killed so long as Russian Federation forces continue
their brutal attack on civilians;
Whereas all civilians, including journalists and news staff, should be spared
violence by military forces;
Whereas Putin and his cronies have demonstrated complete disregard for innocent
life, the sovereignty of Ukraine, the right to free speech, and the
rights and value of a free press;
Whereas Putin is engaged in a propaganda war, as well as a military war, and the
Russian Federation continues to push a false narrative about Russian
military presence in Ukraine;
Whereas the United States supports a free and fair press and rejects any and all
propagandist efforts by the Russian Federation to cover up and hide the
truth behind the Russian Federation's invasion;
Whereas journalists and news staff on the ground in Ukraine who are reporting
the truth to the world, including journalists and news staff from the
United States, are instrumental in combating false propaganda pushed by
Putin and his cronies; and
Whereas, despite the overwhelming threat and risk to their lives and the
sacrifices already made, journalists and news staff continue to report
bravely from Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) declares its gratitude on behalf of the people of the
United States to the journalists and news staff who continue to
put themselves in harm's way to report on the humanitarian
crisis and ongoing war on the ground in Ukraine following the
Russian Federation's invasion;
(2) remembers the journalists and news staff who have lost
their lives or have been severely injured reporting from
Ukraine and conveys the sympathies and appreciation of the
people of the United States to their families for their
sacrifice;
(3) condemns President of the Russian Federation Vladimir
Putin, President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksander
Lukashenko, and their officials for authorizing and executing
attacks on innocent Ukrainian civilians, residential areas, and
humanitarian corridors, resulting in the loss of life of
civilians, including journalists and news staff; and
(4) honors the contributions of journalists and news staff
reporting from the war in Ukraine as essential in the ongoing
struggle for the rights of a free press and free speech
internationally, pivotal in pushing back against false
propaganda by tyrants, and crucial to informing the people of
the United States and the world of the horrors being wrought
against the Ukrainian people.
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