[Pages S1314-S1316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 91--ACKNOWLEDGING THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSIA'S 
 FURTHER INVASION OF UKRAINE AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF 
                                UKRAINE

  Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Wicker, Mr. 
Bennet, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Daines, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Curtis, 
Mr. Coons, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Schatz, 
Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 91

       Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-
     scale, unprovoked, and illegal invasion of Ukraine, which 
     followed Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and 
     its illegal occupation of parts of the Donbas region in 2014;
       Whereas the international community recognizes the 
     sovereignty and full territorial integrity of Ukraine within 
     the 1991 borders; and
       Whereas the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the people of 
     Ukraine have demonstrated a determined resistance that has 
     prevented Russia from taking control of their country: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses continued solidarity with the people of 
     Ukraine and condolences for the loss of tens of thousands of 
     Ukrainian people to Russian aggression;
       (2) rejects Russia's attempts to militarily seize sovereign 
     territory in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe;
       (3) reaffirms the support of the United States for the 
     sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine;
       (4) commends NATO, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, and 
     the international community for their continued efforts to 
     support Ukraine's defense and the protection of human rights 
     on its territory;
       (5) supports Ukraine's aspirations to integrate into Euro-
     Atlantic structures;
       (6) recognizes Ukraine's efforts to strengthen its 
     democracy during wartime;
       (7) encourages the transatlantic community to continue to 
     denounce Russia's illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine and 
     counter Russian aggression; and
       (8) emphasizes that Ukraine must be a participant in 
     discussions with the Russian Federation about Ukraine's 
     future.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it was nearly 40 years ago President 
Ronald Reagan went to the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and he 
said to the Soviets, ``Tear down this wall.'' Ronald

[[Page S1315]]

Reagan understood all too well what the Soviet regime was all about: It 
was a regime that had seized Eastern Europe and condemned millions of 
individuals to live under a cruel and repressive communist 
dictatorship.
  My mother's family originally came from Lithuania, once an 
independent country, then a republic of the Soviet Union, now an 
independent democratic country again. That country meant a lot, and 
still does, to my family. I certainly recall the stories of my 
grandparents leaving the Russian domination and coming to America.
  Until recently, Americans across the political spectrum, including 
Republican Presidents and Members of Congress, saw Russian tyranny for 
what it was--until now.
  Today, we see President Trump doing the bidding of Russian autocrat 
Vladimir Putin. That is right: The President of the United States of 
America is using talking points that sound like they were whispered in 
his ear by the Kremlin, all while denigrating and bullying our true 
allies in the region.
  If you don't believe me, listen to these quotes and try to guess 
whether Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump said them.
  First, outrageously claiming Ukraine started the war with Russia:

       It's they who have started the war.

  Or:

       You've been there for three years. You should have ended 
     it. You should have never started it.

  How about attacking the legitimacy of heroic wartime Ukrainian 
President Vladimir Zelenskyy, who was democratically elected in a free 
and fair election--something that has never taken place in Russia.

       The legitimacy of the incumbent head of state of Ukraine is 
     over.

  Or calling him ``a dictator without elections.''
  In each of these stunning examples, one was spoken by Putin, the 
other by Trump. It is impossible to guess which is which, but you would 
be hard-pressed to figure it out because they are both using the same 
Kremlin propaganda.
  It gets worse, with Donald Trump having negotiated away in public the 
key concessions to Russia to end the war, including appeasement of 
Ukraine's sovereign borders or possible future NATO membership.
  Trump, with not even a phone call, gave those away without even 
negotiating and certainly didn't involve the Ukrainians, who have lost 
46,000 brave Ukrainians who have died because of Putin's invasion.
  Today, in a stunning, shameful move, the United States voted with 
Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and a handful of other dictatorships at 
the United Nations against a resolution condemning Russian aggression 
in Ukraine.
  I want to repeat that because it is so historic and so mind-boggling. 
There was a resolution before the United Nations condemning Russia on 
the third anniversary of their invasion of Ukraine, and the United 
States' representative voted against it, joined in that effort by 
Russia, itself, North Korea, Belarus, and a handful of other 
dictatorships.
  What in the world is going on here? Former Lithuanian Foreign 
Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said of this tragic and unbelievable 
state of affairs that it sounded like there was a handout prepared by 
the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov from which the Trump administration 
was reading.
  He warned if Trump continues to back Russia:

       Threats to Ukrainian security will grow immensely. Putin 
     will get braver. Meaning, there will be more war, more 
     invasion, more death in Moldova, the Baltics, Georgia, maybe 
     even Poland.

  President Trump's affinity for autocrats like Putin and selling out 
or bullying our allies isn't going to make America stronger or our 
world safer. Nor will his petulant and bumbling weekend gutting of our 
top military officers--a troubling act that raises serious questions 
about politicizing our proud, professional fighting force in America.
  Let me be clear: We cannot let President Trump rewrite history or 
upend proven alliances with decades of bipartisan support. Because of 
the NATO alliance, we have avoided a third world war for more than 75 
years. That is a fact.
  Ultimately, only the Ukrainian people can decide Ukraine's future. 
For the United States to be party to any other scheme or conspiracy is 
just unacceptable.
  Doing the bidding of foreign dictators and playing politics with our 
own military only undermine America's ability to be safe.
  Today is the third-year anniversary of Russia's unprovoked and 
illegal invasion of Ukraine. I am glad to join Senators Shaheen, 
Tillis, Wicker, and others in leading a simple resolution that 
expresses continued solidarity with the people of Ukraine and 
condolences for the loss of thousands of lives to Russian aggression. I 
would think that every Senator of both political parties would sign on, 
but fortunately we do have a few, and it is bipartisan.
  The resolution goes on to reject Russia's attempts to militarily 
seize sovereign Ukraine territory. It reaffirms U.S. support for the 
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. That used to be so 
obvious and so easy, no one would enter a resolution into the Record, 
but because of the new statements by President Trump and Vice President 
Vance, it is necessary to state unequivocally that Ukraine must be at 
the table for negotiations over its future.
  Think of that--46,000 people in Ukraine died to stop Putin's advance 
and invasion of Ukraine--46,000--and there was a suggestion that the 
negotiations for peace in the country would take place without Ukraine 
seated at the table. How can that be possible?
  This resolution is straightforward. It expresses what would have--
before this current administration--been seen as a cut-and-dried 
statement of American values when standing up to bullies and tyrants 
like Vladimir Putin, a known war criminal.
  I am also introducing a bill to grant Ukrainians who fled the war and 
are already legally present in the United States with temporary guest 
status. Oh, I know, it is immigration. It is an explosive issue. How in 
the world could we consider it? Let me tell you what happened in the 
city of Chicago.
  The Governor of Texas sent 50,000 migrants in buses--800 buses--to 
the city of Chicago to dump these migrants into a situation where there 
was no place for them to stay, no provision for their food. It was an 
emergency situation. We did the humane thing. We did our best to take 
care of them and the children--50,000 from Texas. It was a 
controversial issue, and there were some who said ``Don't spend a penny 
on them; spend it just on American citizens'' and others who said ``We 
have an obligation that goes beyond simple citizenship. It is a human 
obligation, a moral obligation,'' and we did it.
  At the same time that took place, there were 50,000 Ukrainians coming 
into the city of Chicago as well--different circumstances. They had to 
have a host family that would stand by them as they settled down in the 
city of Chicago, and they had to find jobs.
  Do you know how much controversy there was about those 50,000 
Ukrainians? None. They were assimilated into the economy and have 
become an important part of the city and our State, and I am proud that 
they are there.
  So now what happens to them? The uncertainty of the continuing war in 
Ukraine, the embracing of Putin by President Trump--what is going to 
happen? With this United Nations resolution today, where we were just 
asked to acknowledge the war of 3 years and to stand by the Ukrainians, 
the United States voted no. The United States voted with Russia, with 
North Korea, and with Belarus.
  We have to do something to help these Ukrainians who are here, who 
escaped the invasion of Putin and found peace and security in our 
country.
  When the war started, across the country, Republicans opened their 
arms and hearts and communities to these desperate Ukrainians, even 
actively petitioning President Biden to protect them from deportation. 
So far, not a single Republican has cosponsored my bill. It is a new 
day in Washington. But I urge them to join this simple act of American 
compassion. Standing up to dictators and speaking out for victims of 
war should never be a partisan issue.
  I want to end with a photo.
  The year was 2014 when the late Senator John McCain and I led a 
bipartisan delegation to Ukraine that included current colleagues from 
Rhode

[[Page S1316]]

Island, Wyoming, and North Dakota. At the time, Russia had begun its 
attempts to seize Crimea and capture additional territory in the 
eastern part of Ukraine. Ukrainians had just bravely stood up for their 
own democracy, many paying with their lives in Maidan Square--an 
aspiration for freedom and democracy that frightened Putin and 
confirmed my belief in the strength of the human spirit.
  You see here in this photo we are laying flowers on the makeshift 
shrines to those Ukrainians who were killed in the earliest days of 
their heroic effort to save their nation.
  We should show no less courage here today on a bipartisan basis in 
making sure Ukraine's sovereignty and future are secure and not giving 
in, in appeasement to Putin--a move that could cost us dearly in the 
future.
  It is personal to me. I mentioned to you earlier that my mother was 
born in the Baltic nation of Lithuania. It has been my good fortune to 
visit it during Soviet times and see the terrible impact of communism 
on the freedom of those people and to be standing by their side when 
they fought to have the day when they could have their own democracy 
and their own elections.
  They survived. They prospered. They are great nations--Lithuania, 
Latvia, Estonia--and I know that their future is at stake by this 
decision by President Trump.
  You cannot embrace Vladimir Putin and ignore the obvious. He is a 
thug. He has sent his invading troops in and killed 46,000 Ukrainians. 
Well, they say he has lost 800,000 of his own. Well, I am sorry that 
happened in a way, but he asked for it. He invaded Ukraine--don't make 
any mistake. It didn't happen the other way around. The Ukrainians 
didn't invade themselves. What kind of nonsense was that being spoken 
by the President?
  We have to stand by the people of Ukraine and for the people of the 
Baltics, Moldova, and other states, like Poland, that are vulnerable to 
attack by Vladimir Putin. This is not a political charade. It is not a 
political game. It is the life-and-death reality of this dangerous 
world we live in.
  Once again, the United States should be leading in democratic values 
and certainly not embracing the war criminal Vladimir Putin.

                          ____________________