[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 726 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 726

   Strongly 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 16, 2014

  Mr. Gerlach (for himself, Ms. Kaptur, and Mr. Levin) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Strongly 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.

Whereas the United States is strongly committed to the sovereignty, 
        independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States strongly 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;
Whereas the Russian Federation has undertaken a campaign of political, economic, 
        and military aggression against Ukraine;
Whereas the Russian Federation's forcible occupation and illegal annexation of 
        Crimea, its continuing support for separatist and paramilitary forces in 
        eastern Ukraine, and its invasion of and military operations on 
        Ukrainian territory represent gross violations of Ukraine's sovereignty, 
        independence, and territorial integrity and a violation of international 
        law, including the Russian Federation's obligations under the United 
        Nations Charter and its commitments as a participating State of the 
        Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine continues to exercise extraordinary restraint 
        in response to the invasion of its territory by several thousand 
        military personnel of the Russian Federation, who are engaged in 
        offensive military operations in support of separatist forces, the 
        illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea, and the tens of thousands 
        of Russian Federation military personnel positioned offensively on the 
        Ukrainian-Russian border since March 2014;
Whereas the forcible occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian 
        Federation and its continuing support for separatist and paramilitary 
        forces in eastern Ukraine are violations of its obligations under the 
        1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, in which it pledged to 
        respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of 
        Ukraine and to refrain from the threat or use of force against the 
        territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine;
Whereas the Russian Federation has provided military equipment, training, and 
        other assistance to separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern 
        Ukraine that has resulted in ongoing conflict that is responsible for 
        over 3,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of civilian refugees, and 
        widespread destruction;
Whereas the Ukrainian military remains at a significant disadvantage compared to 
        the armed forces of the Russian Federation in terms of size and 
        technological sophistication;
Whereas the United States strongly supports efforts to assist Ukraine to defend 
        its territory against military aggression by the Russian Federation and 
        by separatist and paramilitary forces;
Whereas Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian airliner, was destroyed by a 
        Russian-made missile provided to the separatist forces by the Russian 
        Federation, taking all 298 innocent lives on board;
Whereas the Russian Federation has used and is continuing to use coercive 
        economic measures, including the manipulation of energy prices and 
        supplies as well as trade restrictions, to place political and economic 
        pressure on Ukraine;
Whereas visa, financial, and other sanctions imposed by the United States, the 
        European Union, and other allies and partners have placed significant 
        pressure on the Russian Federation and its leadership but have not been 
        sufficient to end its political, military, and economic aggression 
        against Ukraine;
Whereas the President of the United States has authority to impose stronger 
        sanctions against the Russian Federation and its leadership;
Whereas an aggressive Russian propaganda effort through the dissemination of 
        false information is intended to stoke ethnic divisions and incite 
        violence, thereby posing a direct threat to the peace and stability of 
        Ukraine;
Whereas on April 3, 2014, the President signed Public Law 113-96 for the purpose 
        of bolstering the resources of the Broadcasting Board of Governors to 
        counter Russian propaganda and provide the people of Ukraine and the 
        surrounding regions with access to credible and uncensored sources of 
        information;
Whereas the United States remains committed to Ukraine's democratic development 
        and to the establishment of a government that includes and respects 
        representatives from all regions of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States is committed to assisting the Government of Ukraine 
        ensure that the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26, 2014, 
        are free, fair, and held in all regions of Ukraine in full accordance 
        with international standards;
Whereas the United States strongly supports the development of a prosperous 
        market economy in Ukraine;
Whereas the United States strongly supports the implementation of economic 
        reforms in Ukraine, including in the fiscal, energy, pension, and 
        banking sectors, among others;
Whereas the United States supports the development of Ukraine's trade and 
        economic ties with other countries and especially the European Union 
        following the signing of an Association Agreement on June 27, 2014;
Whereas the United States strongly supports energy diversification initiatives 
        to reduce Russian control of energy supplies to Ukraine and other 
        European countries, including the development of domestic sources of 
        energy, increased efficiency, and substituting energy obtained from 
        Russia with imports from other countries;
Whereas the terms of the cease-fire announced on September 5, 2014, are being 
        violated by the Russian Federation and the separatist and paramilitary 
        forces it supports;
Whereas this cease-fire, if its terms are fully met by all parties, may be a 
        first step toward the reestablishment of stability that must include the 
        full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory, the 
        establishment of Ukraine's control over all of its international 
        borders, the disarming of the separatist and paramilitary forces in the 
        east, an end to Russia's use of its energy exports and trade barriers to 
        apply economic and political pressure on Ukraine, and an end to Russian 
        interference in Ukraine's internal affairs;
Whereas the political, military, and economic aggression against Ukraine by the 
        Russian Federation underscores the enduring importance of the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization as the cornerstone of collective Euro-
        Atlantic defense; and
Whereas the United States reaffirms its obligations under the North Atlantic 
        Treaty, especially Article 5, which states that ``an armed attack 
        against one or more'' of the treaty signatories ``shall be considered an 
        attack against them all'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) strongly 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;
            (2) calls on the President to continue to work with our 
        allies and partners in Europe and other nations around the 
        world to reaffirm the sovereignty, independence, and 
        territorial integrity of Ukraine and to refuse to recognize the 
        illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation;
            (3) strongly condemns the continuing political, economic, 
        and military aggression by the Russian Federation against 
        Ukraine and the violation of its sovereignty, independence, and 
        territorial integrity;
            (4) states that the military intervention by the Russian 
        Federation is a breach of its obligations under the United 
        Nations Charter and its commitments as a participating State of 
        the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, and 
        is a violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security 
        Assurances, in which it pledged to respect the independence and 
        sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine and to refrain 
        from the threat of use of force against the territorial 
        integrity or political independence of Ukraine; and poses a 
        threat to international peace and security;
            (5) demands that the Russian Federation remove its military 
        forces and military equipment from the territory of Ukraine, 
        including equipment provided to the separatist and paramilitary 
        forces;
            (6) demands that the Russian Federation end its political, 
        military, and economic support of separatist and paramilitary 
        forces in Ukraine;
            (7) demands that the Russian Federation and the separatist 
        and paramilitary forces it supports end their violations of the 
        cease-fire announced on September 5, 2014;
            (8) calls on the President to cooperate with allies and 
        partners in Europe and other nations around the world to impose 
        visa bans, targeted asset freezes, sectoral sanctions, and 
        other measures on the Russian Federation and its leadership 
        sufficient to compel it to end its violation of Ukraine's 
        sovereignty and territorial integrity, to remove its military 
        forces and equipment from Ukrainian territory, and to end its 
        support of separatist and paramilitary forces;
            (9) calls on the President to provide the Government of 
        Ukraine with defense articles, services, and training required 
        to effectively defend its territory and sovereignty;
            (10) calls on the President to ensure the delivery of 
        urgently needed assistance to Ukraine and to ensure that all 
        future assistance will be rapidly delivered;
            (11) calls on the President to provide the Government of 
        Ukraine with appropriate intelligence and other relevant 
        information to assist the Government of Ukraine to defend its 
        territory and sovereignty;
            (12) calls on the President to work with the Government of 
        Ukraine, our allies and other nations, and international 
        organizations to ensure that the multinational team 
        investigating the destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is 
        able to conduct an unrestricted investigation, guarantee the 
        repatriation of remains and personal effects from the crash 
        site, report its findings free of outside political influence 
        or intimidation and to ensure that those directly and 
        indirectly responsible for this tragedy are brought to justice;
            (13) calls on our European allies, and other countries and 
        international organizations, to join the United States in 
        providing assistance to the Government of Ukraine to ensure 
        that the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26, 
        2014, are free, fair, and held in all regions of Ukraine in 
        full accordance with international standards;
            (14) calls on the President to expand United States 
        international broadcasting efforts to Russian-speaking 
        audiences in Ukraine and both inside and outside of Russia and 
        include a broad spectrum of communications mediums to provide 
        high-quality programming content, independent journalism, and 
        credible information to counter Russia's propaganda;
            (15) calls on Ukraine and other countries to support energy 
        diversification initiatives to reduce the ability of the 
        Russian Federation to use its energy exports as a means of 
        applying political or economic pressure, including by promoting 
        increased natural gas exports from the United States and other 
        countries;
            (16) strongly supports the efforts by President Poroshenko 
        and the people of Ukraine to establish a lasting peace in 
        Ukraine that includes the full withdrawal of Russian forces 
        from Ukraine's territory, the establishment of Ukraine's 
        control over all of its international borders, the disarming of 
        the separatist and paramilitary forces in the east, policies to 
        reduce Russia's ability to use energy exports and trade 
        barriers as weapons to apply economic and political pressure on 
        Ukraine, and an end to Russia's interference in Ukraine's 
        internal affairs; and
            (17) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to its 
        obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty, especially Article 
        5, and calls on all Alliance member states to provide their 
        full share of the resources needed to ensure their collective 
        defense.
                                 <all>