[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 22 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 22
Condemning and opposing the unprovoked invasion and egregious act of
aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine by the Russian
Federation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 11, 2023
Ms. Jackson Lee submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning and opposing the unprovoked invasion and egregious act of
aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine by the Russian
Federation.
Whereas Ukraine was the second-most populous and powerful of the 15 republics of
the former and disintegrated Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the
hub of the Union's agricultural production, defense industries, and
military arsenal;
Whereas in the three decades since gaining its independence, Ukraine has sought
to forge its own path as a sovereign state and sought closer economic,
social, and political ties with the free market and democratic nations
of the West;
Whereas, in February 2014, the military of the Russian Federation, without merit
or cause, invaded the eastern part of the free and independent country
of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, and backed a separatist
insurgency in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has
killed over 14,000 people;
Whereas the United States, a strategic ally of Ukraine, reacted swiftly to the
Russian invasion, condemning the military action in strong and
bipartisan fashion, and providing military, humanitarian, and
nonmilitary financial assistance to the determined but beleaguered
nation of Ukraine, which since 2014 has totaled approximately $1.5
billion;
Whereas, on September 14, 2014, the House of Representatives adopted H. Res.
726, a resolution supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to
freely determine their future, including their country's relationship
with other nations and international organizations, without
interference, intimidation, or coercion by other countries, and
committed itself to solidarity with the people of Ukraine;
Whereas interference and unprovoked aggressions by the Russian Federation
ordered and led by Vladimir Putin continued unabated, including the
mobilization and stationing of 150,000 Russian troops surrounding
Ukraine and armed forces positioned in Belarus to attack Ukraine from
the north, including war planes and offensive missile systems, and the
movement of Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea to Ukraine's south,
including amphibious assault ships, missile cruisers, and submarines,
and the positioning of blood and medical equipment into position on
their border;
Whereas Vladimir Putin sought authorization from the Russian Parliament to use
military force outside of Russian territory by staging a fraudulent on-
camera meeting of his Security Council to grandstand for the Russian
public and by recognizing sovereign Ukrainian territory as so-called
independent republics in clear violation, again, of international law,
all of which was intended to set the stage for further pretexts and
further provocations by the Russian Federation to make further
aggressions against Ukraine by military action;
Whereas Vladimir Putin rejected every good-faith effort the United States and
its allies and partners made to address mutual security concerns through
dialogue to avoid needless conflict and avert human suffering;
Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation military, at the direction
of Vladimir Putin, began a premeditated brutal assault on the people of
Ukraine without provocation, without justification, and without
necessity, making outlandish, false, and baseless claims that Ukraine
was about to invade and launch a war against Russia and that Ukraine was
prepared to use chemical weapons, and that Ukraine had committed a
genocide; and
Whereas these actions were taken by Vladimir Putin at the very moment that the
United Nations Security Council was meeting to stand up for Ukraine's
sovereignty to stave off invasion, culminating in missile strikes on
historic cities across Ukraine, followed by air raids and the invasion
of Russian tanks and troops: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns and opposes the unprovoked invasion
and egregious act of aggression against the sovereign state of
Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the most provocative and
destabilizing act of foreign aggression since the 1938 invasion
of the Sudetenland by the Third Reich led by Adolph Hitler;
(2) supports the right of the people of Ukraine to freely
determine their future, including their country's relationship
with other nations and international organizations, without
interference, intimidation, or coercion by other countries;
(3) is committed to promoting democratic values,
transparent and accountable government institutions, and
supports needed economic structural reforms in Ukraine,
including in the fiscal, energy, pension, and banking sectors,
among others;
(4) calls upon and commends the Biden administration for
assembling and working with an international coalition of the
World's leading nations to ensure that all nations refuse to
recognize the illegal invasion of Ukraine by the Russian
Federation and to ensure that the Russian Federation is held
accountable and sustains maximum economic damage from the
imposition of sanctions as a consequence of its utter disregard
for international law and norms;
(5) calls upon the Biden administration to ban all Russian
airlines including Aeroflot, from entering the airspace of the
United States or landing on its soil; and
(6) calls upon and commends the Biden administration for
honoring and abiding by the commitments undertaken by the
United States pursuant to Article 5 of the North Atlantic
Treaty, signed at Washington, District of Columbia, on April 4,
1949, and entered into force on August 24, 1949.
<all>