[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 5, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H2151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                UKRAINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, last week I came down to the floor to ask 
the community of world democracies to provide immediate financial help 
to the country of Ukraine. I would like to report that the United 
States has committed a billion dollars, and the European Union has 
committed, as of the news reports today, another $15 billion.
  This is critical in the need to help them get their economy back 
strong after the incidences over the last couple of months. It is 
unlikely that Russia will pull back from the Crimea. Prime Minister 
Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov have said that they cannot control 
these self-defense forces. Who are they kidding? Russian soldiers with 
no unit identification does not qualify them as self-defense forces.
  If the world stands by and lets this happen, it will be like Neville 
Chamberlain in the Sudetenland, quoting ``peace in our time'' as Russia 
continues to gobble up sovereign states.
  I want to applaud the Ukrainian commander who was the only calm man 
on the peninsula, Colonel Yuliy Mamchuk, when he marched his soldiers 
to the Belbek airbase to continue the job that they do in securing and 
fixing the facilities. It was a tough standoff, but Colonel Yuliy was 
astonished by the change of events in that he has had such a great 
working relationship with the Russian military over the years, and 
obviously, this relationship no longer resides in the relationship 
between Ukraine and Russia.
  On September 4 through 5 of this year, the next NATO summit will be 
held in South Wales. I call upon members of NATO to now do what they 
should have done in the last summit. NATO now must offer membership 
action plans to those aspirational countries that are moving towards 
democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. In particular, they need to 
grant membership action plans to Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.
  Now is also the time for us to continue to license LNG facilities so 
that we can export natural gas to our free and democratic countries 
around the world, to those who are signatories of the World Trade 
Organization and also to those who are members of NATO. It is difficult 
times as you know, Mr. Speaker, but the coalition of free democratic 
countries must stand united against totalitarianism.

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