[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 68 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 68

  Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the January 24, 2015, 
attacks carried out by Russian-backed rebels on the civilian population 
   in Mariupol, Ukraine, and the provision of lethal and non-lethal 
                    military assistance to Ukraine.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 2015

  Mr. Johnson (for himself and Mrs. Shaheen) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the January 24, 2015, 
attacks carried out by Russian-backed rebels on the civilian population 
   in Mariupol, Ukraine, and the provision of lethal and non-lethal 
                    military assistance to Ukraine.

Whereas Russian-backed rebels continue to expand their campaign in Ukraine, 
        which has already claimed more than 5,000 lives and generated an 
        estimated 1,500,000 refugees and internally displaced persons;
Whereas, on January 23, 2015, Russian rebels pulled out of peace talks with 
        Western leaders;
Whereas, on January 24, 2015, the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol received 
        rocket fire from territory in the Donetsk region controlled by rebels;
Whereas, on January 24, 2015, Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the Russian-
        backed rebel Donetsk People's Republic, publicly announced that his 
        troops had launched an offensive against Mariupol;
Whereas Mariupol is strategically located on the Sea of Azov and is a sea link 
        between Russian-occupied Crimea and Russia, and could be used to form 
        part of a land bridge between Crimea and Russia;
Whereas the indiscriminate attack on Mariupol killed 30 people, including 2 
        children, and wounded 102 in markets, homes, and schools;
Whereas any group that fires rockets knowingly into a civilian population is 
        committing war crimes and is in violation of international humanitarian 
        law;
Whereas, even after the Russian Federation and the Russian-backed rebels signed 
        a ceasefire agreement called the Minsk Protocol in September 2014, 
        NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, General Philip Breedlove, reported in 
        November 2014 the movement of ``Russian troops, Russian artillery, 
        Russian air defense systems, and Russian combat troops'' into Ukraine;
Whereas, on January 24, 2015, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated, 
        ``For several months we have seen the presence of Russian forces in 
        eastern Ukraine, as well as a substantial increase in Russian heavy 
        equipment such as tanks, artillery, and advanced air defense systems. 
        Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are supporting offensive operations 
        with command and control systems, air defense systems with advanced 
        surface-to-air missiles, unmanned aerial systems, advanced multiple 
        rocket launcher systems, and electronic warfare systems.'';
Whereas, on January 25, 2015, after Russian-backed rebels attacked Mariupol, 
        European Council President Donald Tusk wrote, ``Once again appeasement 
        encourages the aggressor to greater acts of violence; time to step up 
        our policy based on cold facts, not illusions.'';
Whereas, on November 19, 2014, at a Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
        confirmation hearing, Deputy National Security Adviser Anthony Blinken 
        stated that the provision of defensive lethal assistance to the 
        Government of Ukraine ``remains on the table. It's something we're 
        looking at.'';
Whereas the Ukraine Freedom Support Act (Public Law 113-272), which was passed 
        by Congress unanimously and signed into law by the President on December 
        18, 2014, states that it is the policy of the United States to further 
        assist the Government of Ukraine in restoring its sovereignty and its 
        territorial integrity to deter the Government of the Russian Federation 
        from further destabilizing and invading Ukraine and other independent 
        countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia; 
        and
Whereas the Ukraine Freedom Support Act authorizes $350,000,000 in fiscal years 
        2015-2017 for the President to provide the Government of Ukraine with 
        defense articles, defense services, and military training for the 
        purpose of countering offensive weapons and reestablishing the 
        sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including anti-tank 
        and anti-armor weapons; crew weapons and ammunition; counter-artillery 
        radars; fire control and guidance equipment; surveillance drones; and 
        secure command and communications equipment: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the attack on Mariupol by Russian-backed 
        rebels;
            (2) urges the President to provide lethal and non-lethal 
        military assistance to Ukraine as unanimously supported by 
        Congress in the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (Public Law 
        113-272);
            (3) calls on the United States, its European allies, and 
        the international community to continue to apply economic and 
        other forms of pressure on the Russian Federation, especially 
        in the form of sanctions, if the Government of the Russian 
        Federation continues to refuse to cease its aggression in 
        Ukraine;
            (4) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        immediately end its support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine, 
        allow Ukraine to regain control of its internationally 
        recognized borders, and withdraw its military presence in 
        eastern Ukraine; and
            (5) expresses solidarity with the people of Ukraine 
        regarding the humanitarian crisis in their country and the 
        destruction caused by the military, financial, and ideological 
        support of the Government of the Russian Federation for the 
        rebels in eastern Ukraine.
                                 <all>