[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 134 (Thursday, September 18, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H7680-H7683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  0950
 JOINT MEETING TO HEAR AN ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY PETRO POROSHENKO, 
                          PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE

  During the recess, the House was called to order by the Speaker at 9 
o'clock and 50 minutes a.m.
  The Assistant Sergeant at Arms, Ms. Kathleen Joyce, announced the 
Vice President and Members of the U.S. Senate who entered the Hall of 
the House of Representatives, the Vice President taking the chair at 
the right of the Speaker, and the Members of the Senate the seats 
reserved for them.
  The SPEAKER. The joint meeting will come to order.
  The Chair appoints as members of the committee on the part of the 
House to escort His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, 
into the Chamber:
  The gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy);
  The gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise);
  The gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers);
  The gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden);
  The gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Royce);
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen);
  The gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger);
  The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers);
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gerlach);
  The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner);
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi);
  The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer);
  The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn);
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel);
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra);
  The gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter);
  The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley);
  The gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur);
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell);
  The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin);
  The gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown); and
  The gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).
  The VICE PRESIDENT. The President of the Senate, at the direction of 
that body, appoints the following Senators as members of the committee 
on the part of the Senate to escort His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, 
President of Ukraine, into the House Chamber:
  The Senator from Nevada (Mr. Reid);
  The Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin);
  The Senator from Washington (Mrs. Murray);
  The Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow);
  The Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez);
  The Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Murphy);
  The Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell);
  The Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn);
  The Senator from Missouri (Mr. Blunt);
  The Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso); and
  The Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Corker).
  The Assistant Sergeant at Arms announced the Acting Dean of the 
Diplomatic Corps, His Excellency H.E. Bockari Kortu Stevens, the 
Ambassador of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps entered the Hall of the House 
of Representatives and took the seat reserved for him.
  The Assistant Sergeant at Arms announced the Cabinet of the President 
of the United States.
  The Members of the Cabinet of the President of the United States 
entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and took the seats 
reserved for them in front of the Speaker's rostrum.
  At 10 o'clock and 12 minutes a.m., the Sergeant at Arms, the 
Honorable Paul D. Irving, announced His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, 
President of Ukraine.
  The President of Ukraine, escorted by the committee of Senators and 
Representatives, entered the Hall of the House of Representatives and 
stood at the Clerk's desk.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  The SPEAKER. Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and the 
distinct honor of presenting to you His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, 
President of Ukraine.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  President POROSHENKO. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Majority 
Leader, Members of the House, Members of the Senate, ladies and 
gentlemen, it is impossible to imagine what I am feeling right now. How 
symbolic is the unity of the United States Congress in solidarity with 
Ukraine.
  This is exactly what Ukraine now needs the most, unity and 
solidarity, not only with the United States Congress, not only with the 
United States, but with the whole world.
  Let me thank you for your warmth and hospitality. Addressing both 
Houses of the Congress is one of the highest political privileges.
  Standing here, I am grateful and fully aware that this honor goes not 
to me, but to the people of Ukraine, those brave men and women who are 
today on the forefront of the global fight for democracy. Forty-five 
million Ukrainian people are watching this speech in this session of 
the Congress, seeing and absolutely sure about our solidarity and our 
joint and common strength. And please allow me to speak on their 
behalf.
  I will focus on the one thing that is at the core of Ukraine's 
existence today: freedom. There are moments in history when freedom is 
more than just a political concept. At those moments, freedom becomes 
the ultimate choice which defines who you are as a person or as a 
nation.
  Ukraine has lived this moment over the last 10 months and became the 
scene of the most heroic story of the last decade, a synonym for 
sacrifice, dedication, and the unbreakable will to live free.
  The people of Ukraine stood up to the corrupt regime of Yanukovych. 
They stood their ground during this dramatic winter. More of you were 
together with us during the last winter, and I thank you for this very 
important--for us--gesture of solidarity.
  The defenders of freedom were willing to sacrifice their lives for 
the sake of a better future. What is even more amazing is that they and 
we won. Armed with only sticks and shields, they attacked the special 
police and chased them away.
  The victory gained on Independence Square in Kiev, now known to the 
whole world as the very international word of ``Maidan,'' was a victory 
against police brutality, harassment by the state-controlled media, 
violence, and intimidation.
  There is nothing more impressive than seeing hundreds of thousands of 
peaceful people forcing out a violent dictator and changing the course 
of history--the second time in our history.
  Day after day, week after week, month after month, thousands upon 
thousands streamed into the streets of Kiev simply because their 
dignity didn't allow them to remain passive and silent while their 
liberties were at stake.
  The standoff on the Maidan lasted a long 3 months. It culminated on 
February 20 and 21, when over 100 protesters in 1 day were shot by 
snipers.

[[Page H7681]]

We call them the ``Heavenly Hundred.'' We revere them as true national 
heroes, and we applaud their heroism.
  Dear ladies and gentlemen, in February, when the world saw that no 
one could take away Ukraine's freedom, an external aggressor decided to 
take away a part of Ukrainian territory. The annexation of Crimea 
became one of the most cynical acts of treachery in modern history.
  I just want to call your attention to the fact that Ukraine gave up 
the third largest nuclear potential in exchange for security assurance 
and was stabbed in the back by one of the countries who gave her that 
assurance.
  Allow me to remind you that 20 years ago--exactly 20 years--in the 
Budapest Memorandum, Russia, along with the United States, the United 
Kingdom, France, and China, vowed to provide for the inviolability of 
Ukraine's state borders and territorial sovereignty.
  In reality, what we got from Russia was annexation and a war that has 
brought Ukraine to the brink of its survival.
  The Soviet Union had collapsed too quickly, creating the illusion 
that this chapter in history was closed and that this story had come to 
the end; but, unfortunately, in the minds of the people, it has not 
ended. The imperialistic mindset is still there. Nostalgia for the 
Soviet Union and the dismissal of the settlement that ended the cold 
war has been cultivating revisionist instincts.
  In the year 2008, Russian troops occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 
Now, they have invaded Ukraine. The right to protect ethnic Russians 
and even Russian speakers can and already has become a reason to fan 
the flames of war. Besides Ukraine, Russian speakers reside now in 
Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Baltic States, Poland--even in 
Germany there is a very big majority--and Bulgaria.
  Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine--who is next? Many things, including the 
effectiveness of the global nonproliferation system, will be put to a 
severe test and judged depending on the response of America and of the 
whole world to this very simple question.
  Even NATO allies are at risk. As if to underline this point, 2 days 
after President Obama's visit to Estonia, the day the NATO summit 
ended, an Estonian intelligence officer was abducted and accused of 
espionage.
  The security assurances that were extended to Ukraine then have 
failed to work, proving that no agreements or treaties can secure world 
order.
  So what can bring peace and what can maintain it? Common values, 
cooperation, interdependence, leadership, and responsibility. These are 
the things that can defend global security; so I urge you not to let 
Ukraine stand alone in the face of this aggression.
  It is very important that the whole world will see this gesture of 
solidarity. Ukraine is not alone. We are together, we are united, and 
we will win because our fighting is fighting for freedom and fighting 
for democracy. I have absolutely no doubt that our victory will be very 
close.
  I am absolutely sure that the United States made a commitment that it 
would stand behind Ukraine's territorial integrity, and we hope that it 
will live up to that promise because it is very simple: democracies 
must support each other. They must show solidarity in the face of 
aggression and adversity; otherwise, they will be eliminated one by 
one.
  The aggression against Ukraine has become one of the worst setbacks 
for the cause of democracy in the world in years. With just one move, 
the world has been thrown back in time to a reality of territorial 
claims, zones of influence, criminal aggression, and annexations.
  Can you imagine, within 2 weeks, Crimea was invaded and annexed. Why? 
Because Ukraine simply was not prepared to face this aggression. We 
were not prepared to face this enemy. That was exactly at the time of 
the revolution of dignity, and they used this opportunity, without any 
doubt.
  The postwar international system of checks and balances was 
effectively ruined. The world was plunged into the worst security 
crisis since the U.S.-USSR standoff of 1962.
  Today, we are witnessing another attempt at dividing the world, and 
Ukraine stands in the center of this attempt.
  The outcome of today's war will determine whether we will be forced 
to accept the reality of a dark, torn, and bitter Europe as part of a 
new world order.
  This Ukrainian Army--imagine these young boys, underequipped and 
often unappreciated by the world--is the only thing that now stands 
between the reality of peaceful coexistence and the nightmare of a full 
relapse into the previous century and into a new cold war.
  Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian people, and Ukrainian boys and girls 
are now on the front for freedom and democracy. They need your support.
  The war that these young men are fighting today is not only Ukraine's 
war. Everybody should understand that. It is Europe's, and it is 
America's war too. It is a war of the free world--and for a free world.
  Today, aggression against Ukraine is a threat to the global security 
everywhere. Hybrid proxy wars, terrorism, national radical and 
extremist movements, the erosion of national and international 
agreements, the blurring and even the raising of the national 
identities, all these threats now challenge Europe. If they are not 
stopped now, they will cross European borders and spread absolutely 
throughout the world.
  To prevent this, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are in the line of 
fire exactly right now when we have a so-called cease-fire. From the 
date we started the cease-fire, Ukraine lost 17 lives of the Ukrainian 
soldiers, 67 are wounded. This is the cease-fire. This is the price 
Ukraine now paid for the peace.
  Speaking in the United States Congress, from this high beacon of 
freedom, I want to thank them for their sacrifice. Thank you for the 
United States Congress. And I urge the world to recognize and endorse 
their fight. They need more political support throughout the world. 
They need more military equipment, both lethal and nonlethal, urgently 
needed.
  Please understand me correctly, blankets, night-vision goggles are 
also important, but one cannot win the war with blankets. Even more, we 
cannot keep the peace with a blanket, and this is the most important of 
our values, of our aim: not to win the war, but keep the peace. For 
keeping the peace, we should be strong enough, and there is not any 
doubt that we will be strong because of you, because of our solidarity, 
and because of the combat, the very strong spirit of the Ukrainian 
soldiers.
  I thank all of those in America who realize and appreciate the 
historic importance of this fight.
  Just like Israel, Ukraine has the right to defend her territory, and 
it will do so with all the courage of her heart and dedication of her 
soul.
  I urge America to help us and to rise and to be equal to its natural 
and manifest role. I urge America to lead the way.
  Ukraine has a special bond with the United States. Today, Ukraine is 
taking shape as America's natural and consequential partner in the 
region. This partnership is not circumstantial. It has not come because 
we find ourselves ``in the same boat.'' It came about because in the 
moment of the existential crisis, Ukraine's choice was the same as 
America's. It is very simple: freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
  In a time of Europe's skepticism and Russia's open, unprovoked 
hostility, Ukrainian citizens have been ready to give their lives to 
see Ukraine democratic and free.
  Circumstantial ``boats'' can change; the nature of the people cannot.
  It is in the nature of the Ukraine people to tolerate no dictators 
and to strive for their freedom, no matter what. Given today's 
situation, Ukraine's democracy will have to rely on their own strong 
army.
  In the upcoming years, building a strong military will be another 
existential test for Ukrainian democracy. I see it as my utmost duty to 
rectify the damage done to the Ukrainian military and to give Ukraine a 
strong, modern army that we can be proud of.
  With this in mind, I strongly encourage the United States to give 
Ukraine a special security and defense status, which should reflect the 
highest level of interaction with non-NATO allies.
  I also ask that the United States be forceful and stand by its 
principles

[[Page H7682]]

with respect to further sanctions against the aggressor.
  Economic sanctions are important for many reasons. They help to 
distinguish between good and evil. They help us to defend and stand the 
moral high ground and not to sink into indifference disguised as 
pragmatism.
  I understand that the wars of the last decade have taken a heavy toll 
on the economy of the West. And I understand, believe me, that 
Americans and American citizens and American taxpayers want peace, not 
war. So do Ukrainian citizens and taxpayers. However, there are moments 
in history, whose importance cannot be measured solely in percentages 
of GDP growth.
  Ukraine's war is the only war of the last decade that is purely about 
values. Ukraine's war is the war, again, for the freedom, democracy, 
and European values, and the best evidence of that is the number of 
members of the Ukrainian Parliament which fortified our association 
agreement with the European Union.
  Our nation decided to be free and democratic. Another nation decided 
to punish Ukraine for this. The world simply cannot allow this kind of 
behavior.
  ``Values come first''--this is the truth the world and the West would 
remind Ukraine of over the last years. Now it is Ukraine's turn to 
remind the West of this truth.
  Allow me also to say this. There is no way, at no price, and under no 
condition that we will ever put up with Crimea's occupation. Ending the 
occupation and annulling the annexation is not only an integral 
precondition to a full normalization of the relation between Ukraine 
and Russia; it is also the integral precondition for Crimea's own 
prosperity and modernization.
  Until this precondition is fulfilled, I urge America and the world to 
stand united in sending a signal to the aggressors of today and of the 
future that the policy and practice of annexation will never be 
tolerated.
  And clearly, I am not talking about a military solution of the 
Crimean problem. This will be a dilemma for many years; a choice 
between two ways of life; and two political, economic, and social 
systems. But I have no doubt that in the long run the system that 
offers the greater freedom will prevail. It always does.
  Dear ladies and gentlemen, the last half year has been a time of 
ultimate challenge for millions of Ukrainians. It was a time for 
heroism and sacrifice. For too many, it became the ultimate sacrifice. 
Let me share with you two human stories that illustrate my point.
  On March 3, when the occupation of Crimea just started, there was one 
man in the Crimean city of Simferopol who did the unthinkable. When 
millions felt paralyzed and stunned at what was unfolding before their 
eyes, Reshat Ametov, a 39-year-old father of three, decided not to be 
silent.
  This brave son of the Crimean Tatar people went on a one-man protest 
in front of the occupied city hall. He did nothing more than hold a 
sheet of paper that said: ``NO to Occupation!'' A group of unknown 
people arrested him and transported him away--in the plain sight of 
dozens of witnesses, in front of TV cameras. Two weeks later, he was 
found tortured and executed--Mafia style.
  Just the thought of this man's final tormented minutes sends chills 
down my spine. I ask myself: what made this hero do what he did? And I 
can find no other answer than: he did it for freedom, so his children 
would not face slavery like that of a neo-Stalinist dictatorship.
  I am convinced that years from now, when Crimea's occupation will 
belong to the past, the Crimean people will think about what he did and 
salute his braveness--just like I do now.
  And I assure you that Ukraine will always stand together with the 
Crimean Tatar people, whose language, rights, and culture are being 
trampled upon right now--as they were many years ago under Soviet rule.
  I urge America and the world not to be silent about these crimes.
  It is Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars who are being oppressed in Crimea 
right now.
  And it is time for all the people of goodwill to rephrase John 
Kennedy's words from over 50 years ago: ``I am a Crimean Tatar''--and 
there is nothing that would make me give up my freedom.
  And let me also commemorate another Ukrainian hero--Volodymyr Rybak, 
a 42-year-old father of two and a member of the municipal parliament of 
East Ukrainian Horlivka.
  On April 15, he confronted separatists and Russian special operations 
officers over a separatist flag that they were trying to hoist atop the 
local administration building. Exactly just like Reshat Ametov, he was 
abducted and tortured. His last hours must have been unthinkable. His 
body was badly mutilated.
  Today, I stand here in awe of this tragedy and of the courage and 
sacrifice of this man and of the courage and sacrifice of the millions 
of Ukrainians.
  From the bottom of my heart, I deeply believe that there will be a 
time--and I am sure very soon--when Horlivka's central square will be 
named after Volodymyr and when schoolchildren will bring flowers to his 
monument.
  Dear ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake: Europe's, and the 
world's, choice right now is not the choice between a unipolar and a 
multipolar order. Neither is it a choice between different kinds of 
civilizations. It is a choice between civilization and barbarism.
  And while standing at this juncture, before this great trial, the 
democratic world cannot shrink or hesitate. We don't want to see all 
the democratic accomplishments of the last decades to be erased and to 
have been for nothing.
  The free world must stand its ground. With America's help, it will.
  Yes, we live in a world that is mutually reliant and interconnected. 
In this world, the aggression on one democratic nation is aggression 
against all of us. We fully understand that.
  If anyone had doubts about this--if anyone was hoping ``to sit it 
out'' while Ukrainians and Russians continue killing each other--this 
ended on July 17, when a Russian missile launched by a Russian 
mercenary shot down the civilian Boeing 777 Malaysian flight MH17. Two 
hundred and ninety-eight innocent, peaceful people, many of whom were 
flying on their vacations in the south, met their ultimate demise in 
the steppes of Ukraine.
  Their cold-blooded killing--just like the barbaric treatment of their 
remains afterwards--showed that whoever floods Europe with uncontrolled 
weapons puts millions of lives at risk for years, for decades.
  This was an undisputable brutal act of terror. Unfortunately, it was 
this tragedy that gave a wake-up call to many in the world about the 
situation in Ukraine.
  Long after wars end, the fear and hate linger on.
  How many more deaths will be caused by the handguns handed out, with 
absolutely no controls or accountability in those regions?
  How many innocent children will step on landmines so massively 
utilized by the separatists?
  How many lives will be ruined and souls poisoned by the propaganda 
machine?
  The act of pumping the region full of uncontrolled arms represents a 
policy of state-funded terrorism--and it needs to stop now.
  The cynical downing of the Malaysian Boeing revealed one more 
important thing: we are now at the forefront of the fight against the 
terrorism.
  And we need to join our efforts to effectively respond to this 
challenge.
  With this said, people throughout the world are asking the same 
questions:
  ``Are we on the eve of a new cold war?''
  ``Is the possibility of a new, terrible, and unimaginable European 
war there?''
  ``Is what until recently seemed unthinkable now becoming a reality?''
  Sadly, today, the answer to all of these questions is ``yes.''
  However, we cannot and must not accept this as an inevitability.
  As recently as 2008, the then-President of Russia ran his election 
campaign under the slogan ``Freedom is better than non-freedom.'' And 
it was in Russia in the year 2008.
  I am sure that, despite the Crimean annexation and the ongoing 
aggression, millions of Russians still remember that slogan and take it 
seriously.
  Please, let's remind them. Let's show them that freedom is not a 
luxury--as some try to convince them--but a necessity, and a 
precondition for the true success of a nation.

[[Page H7683]]

  I am convinced that the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia 
have enough goodwill to give peace one last chance and prevail against 
the spirit of hate between our countries.
  That is why my Presidency began with a peace plan and a one-sided 
cease-fire, which will last a long 10 days, again, paying a very high 
price of the killing Ukrainian soldiers, hitting Ukrainian planes, and 
hundreds wounded. We keep this cease-fire a long 10 days.
  Unfortunately, this was not accepted by Russian separatists. That is 
why we are holding our fire now. That is why two armies stand before 
each other without massively shedding each other's blood. And if things 
work out right, they will not have to.
  I am in daily contact with the leaders of the world, including the 
leader of Russia.
  The dialogue is not easy, believe me. Over these last months, too 
much goodwill was destroyed. Too much hate was generated, naturally and 
artificially. Too many people have died.
  Based on that, I feel there is a growing mutual recognition that 
enough is enough. The bloodshed must stop. The pandemic of hate must be 
localized and contained.
  As President, looking in the eyes of the mothers and wives of the 
dead soldiers and civilians, believe me, this is my hardest duty.
  No one can take it lightly. Today, it is my burden and the burden of 
President Putin. As he lit a candle in a Moscow church to remember 
those who perished in this war last week, I did the same in Kiev.
  And from the bottom of my heart, I deeply, profoundly wish that 
church candles would be the only things burned in Ukraine from now on.

                              {time}  1050

  Over the last months, Ukrainians have shown that they have the 
courage to stand up to the most powerful enemy. We will never obey or 
bend to the aggressor. We are ready to fight, but we are a people of 
peace, and we extend the hand of peace to Russia and to the Russian-
inspired separatists.
  I am ready to do my utmost to avoid a further escalation and 
casualties, even at this point, when the war has already started 
feeding on itself.
  Sooner or later, I am absolutely sure peace will return to Ukrainian 
homes; and, despite the insanity of this war, I am convinced that peace 
can be achieved sooner rather than later. I am ready to offer the 
separatists more rights than any part of Ukraine has ever had in the 
history of the nation.
  I am ready to discuss anything--Ukrainian independence, Ukrainian 
territory, Ukrainian sovereignty--except one thing, Ukraine's 
dismemberment. I am confident that, if this war is about the rights and 
not about the geopolitical ambitions, a solution must--and I am sure 
will--be found.
  Ladies and gentlemen, in 1991, independence came to Ukraine at a very 
low cost and peacefully; yet the more real this independence became, 
the higher grew its cost. Today, that cost is as high as it gets.
  While fighting this war, we learn to value independence and to 
recognize true friends, and at no point do we ever forget why we need 
independence. We need it to have a country worthy of the dreams of our 
ancestors. We need a state that would give its citizens a life of 
dignity, fairness, and equal opportunity.
  To reach this goal, we will have to root out the sins that drained 
Ukraine's potential for such a long time and made the two decades of 
independence a time of lost opportunities. We are painfully aware of 
these sins--largely inherited from the era of Soviet Union decay--
corruption, bureaucracy, and the self-preserving cynicism of political 
elites.
  There is a saying that each people deserve the government it gets. 
Ukraine's two revolutions within a single decade show that Ukraine as a 
people is much better than Ukraine as a government. It shows that 
Ukraine needs and deserves deep and profound modernization in 
absolutely all spheres, of the kind that brought economic success to 
Poland.
  Given the current situation in and around Ukraine, the implementation 
of comprehensive reforms is not a matter of Ukraine succeeding but of 
Ukraine surviving. Deeply aware of that, I gave my voters this pledge, 
and I will stick to it.
  With the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement signed and ratified 
simultaneously in the Ukrainian and the European Parliament, we have a 
clear path of reforms before us. Never in the history of the European 
Union was there a document that was paid for so dearly, at such 
incredible human cost and sacrifice.
  This sacrifice, the memory of the hundreds dead and wounded, will be 
one more reason and incentive to hold to this unique chance to make 
Ukraine live up to its potential.
  Ukraine needs more than governance and noncorrupt public 
administration. Ukraine needs to delegate more powers to the local 
communities. Ukraine needs to rely more on its strong, vibrant, and 
dynamic civil society.
  Ukraine is building a new model of managing its state and economic 
affairs, where merit and hard work are duly rewarded. Ukraine needs 
know-how, technology, and new startups to become better integrated with 
the global economy. And, for all that, we need America's help.
  In particular, I ask the Congress to create a special fund to support 
investments of American companies in Ukraine and to help us with 
reforming our economy and our justice system. I assure you that all aid 
received from the West will be utilized by noncorrupt institutions and 
that the new generation of officials will make sure the funds are 
distributed effectively.
  Ladies and gentlemen, we called our revolution the revolution of 
dignity. Human dignity was the driving force that took people to the 
streets. This revolution must result in an education of dignity, an 
economy of dignity, and a society of dignity.
  Human dignity is what makes Ukraine's heart beat and Ukraine's mind 
look toward a new and better version of itself. Human dignity is the 
one thing we have to oppose the barbarism of those attacking us.
  It is the one thing that we can set against the sea of lies in which 
the highly sophisticated and well-funded machine of Russian propaganda 
is trying to drown the truth about Ukrainian democracy.
  In the coming years, too many things will depend on Ukrainian 
success. This success will be determined by Ukraine's new leadership, 
by its new political generation, and by the newly mobilized society of 
Ukraine. Ukraine truly makes a difference.
  By supporting Ukraine, you support a new future for Europe and the 
entire free world. By supporting Ukraine, you support a nation that has 
chosen freedom in the most cynical of times.
  In Ukraine, you don't build a democracy; it already exists. You just 
defend it. This is exactly what makes Ukraine unique and its struggle 
deeply and profoundly different from any other conflicts on the world 
scene. This is what makes Ukraine the ultimate test of adherence to the 
ideal of freedom.
  ``Live free or die'' was one of the mottos of the American 
Revolutionary War.
  ``Live free or die'' was the spirit of the revolutionary Maidan 
during the dramatic winter months of 2014, with the significant 
presence of the Members of the United States Congress, and we thank you 
for that.
  ``Live free or die'' are the words of Ukrainian soldiers standing on 
the line of freedom in this war.
  ``Live free'' must be the answer with which Ukraine comes out of this 
war.
  ``Live free'' must be the message Ukraine and America send to the 
world, while standing together in this time of enormous challenge.
  Thank you.
  (Applause, the Members rising.)
  At 11 o'clock and 1 minute a.m., His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, 
President of Ukraine, accompanied by the committee of escort, retired 
from the Hall of the House of Representatives.
  The Assistant Sergeant at Arms escorted the invited guests from the 
Chamber in the following order:
  The Members of the President's Cabinet;
  The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

                          ____________________