[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S903-S904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 72--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
 JANUARY 24, 2015, ATTACKS CARRIED OUT BY RUSSIAN-BACKED REBELS ON THE 
CIVILIAN PROPULATION IN MARIUPOL, UKRAINE, AND THE PROVISION OF LETHAL 
             AND NON-LETHAL MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE

  Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
Corker, Mr. McCain, Mr. Risch, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Gardner, 
Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Portman, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. 
Boxer, Mr. Graham, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. 
Whitehouse) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                               S. Res. 72

       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-backed 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, on April 19, 2000, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Resolution 1296, reaffirming its strong 
     condemnation of the deliberate targeting of civilians;
       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 these 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-

[[Page S904]]

     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,

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       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.

     SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an 
     authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war.

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