[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7127-S7128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today, as I have many times 
before, to stand up for a free and independent Ukraine.
  I come to the floor to unambiguously call out and condemn the Russian 
Government's escalation of aggression and the increasingly dangerous 
situation in Ukraine.
  Over the weekend, Russian forces sharply escalated their campaign in 
Ukraine by attacking and seizing 3 Ukrainian vessels with 23 crew 
members and temporarily shutting down commercial shipping through the 
Kerch Strait. Ukrainian sailors were injured and required medical 
attention.
  This was an outrageous violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, so I want 
to say this clearly and unequivocally: The Kremlin must immediately 
return the vessels and sailors to Ukraine. The Kremlin must not 
obstruct the free passage of shipping through the Kerch Strait moving 
forward.
  We here in the United States must take the Kremlin's actions 
seriously in word and in deed, for the Russian Government's actions on 
Sunday marked a sharp escalation in Putin's ongoing assault on the 
international rules-based order, this time on the freedom of navigation 
in the high seas. Indeed, this was an act of war, and Sunday's attack 
comes in the context of ongoing Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine 
for the past 4 years.
  For the past 4 years, Ukrainian forces have endured an unrelenting 
assault, rendering the Donbas economically shattered and ungovernable.
  For the past 4 years, 1.5 million displaced people have lived lives 
of uncertainty, not sure when and if they will ever be able to return 
home.
  For the past 4 years, Ukraine has struggled to rebuild its economy 
and reform its institutions while fighting a hot war and suffering 
regular casualties.
  For the past 4 years, Ukraine has been on the frontlines of a 
struggle against the Kremlin's vision of a world that is not guided by 
Democratic values, not buttressed by fundamental freedoms, not governed 
by a rules-based international order but, instead, ruled by Mr. Putin 
and a corrupt cabal of oligarch insiders.
  Despite years of aggression, Putin's latest escalation marks an even 
more insidious turn. Apparently, the Kremlin no longer seeks to hide 
behind lies of little green men or Russian-backed separatists. The 
Russian Government, with no pretense or obfuscation, fully admitted to 
directly firing on Ukrainian forces and seizing their ships.
  Beyond the military component, this attack tells us that Putin is 
ramping up an economic war on Ukraine. Since the spring, Russian 
vessels have blocked Ukrainian commercial ships from sailing through 
the Kerch Strait, costing Ukraine millions in lost revenue from exports 
and blocking imports critical to the Ukrainian economy. This weekend, 
Moscow opened up a new front in the war, one that could ultimately do 
the most damage to Ukraine's viability as a state.
  Russia's actions show that its leaders are emboldened, unchastened, 
and on the march. Clearly our response to Russian efforts to undermine 
our security, our fundamental democratic values, our institutions, and 
the rules-based international order has thus far been inadequate.
  Certainly the State and Defense Departments have taken some steps to 
counter Russian aggression. Ambassador Kurt Volker, who has led efforts 
to fully implement the Minsk agreements, has shown clear-eyed 
leadership in calling out the Kremlin and holding Putin to account. Our 
Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Wess Mitchell, has done much 
of the same. Secretary Jim Mattis has consistently supported a strong 
military presence in Europe to counter Russian aggression. Nikki Haley, 
our U.S. Ambassador, issued the first statement from the administration 
following Sunday's attack and was appropriately firm. Come to think of 
it, I can't think of any player within the Trump administration who is 
soft on Russia--except one, of course: the President himself.
  Just yesterday, when asked by reporters about Russia's escalation in 
Ukraine, President Trump said: ``We don't like what is happening either 
way.'' In other words, he once again fell back on the same old both 
sides excuse he keeps in his back pocket whenever asked about Russia's 
bad behavior. This is not the kind of clear and unequivocal 
denouncement the people of Ukraine or the world needs to hear from an 
American President at a moment in which the international democratic 
order is under attack, but unfortunately it is what we have come to 
expect from President Trump, who repeatedly subverts his own 
administration's positions and efforts on Russia.
  The work of Mattis, Volker, Mitchell, Haley, and countless others has 
been repeatedly undermined by a President who has abandoned America's 
interests and betrayed our core principles time and time again, from 
the fiasco in Helsinki to an exchange in Paris just weeks ago where he 
greeted Putin with a giant smile on his face.
  The President has had many opportunities to restore confidence to the

[[Page S7128]]

American people and reclaim America's global leadership on Russia 
policy. While he has repeatedly failed to do so, yet another 
opportunity lies before him this week at the G20 summit in Buenos 
Aires, where he is scheduled to meet with Putin. If ever there were a 
time for this President to defend our country, our principles, and 
those of our allies, this would be it. If ever there were an 
opportunity for American leadership, this would be it. If there were 
ever a time for President Trump to find his spine on Russia, this would 
be it.
  In the meantime, President Trump must use this week's opportunity in 
Buenos Aires to send a clear message to Putin that we will not tolerate 
its increasingly aggressive behavior in Ukraine. Here is what I believe 
the President must do:
  First, the United States needs to increase assistance to our friends 
in Ukraine in the face of continued aggression in Donbass and now in 
the Kerch Strait. The Trump administration must immediately increase 
security assistance to Ukraine, including the provision of lethal 
maritime equipment and weapons. In addition, we must bolster 
intelligence-sharing with Kiev and assist Ukraine's efforts to improve 
its maritime domain awareness.
  Second, NATO has a critical role and should consider increasing 
exercises and its presence in the Black Sea. The United States has 
maintained an active presence in the South China Sea to protect 
shipping lanes. NATO should move quickly to establish such a presence 
in the Black Sea.
  Third, the United States should increase sanctions pressure on Russia 
immediately. This is long overdue. The President is required to impose 
sanctions on Russia under the CAATSA law. Several mandatory provisions 
of the law remain ignored. I would offer that now would be a good time 
to follow the law. But imposing sanctions alone does not constitute a 
real strategy.
  Fourth, Sunday's events present an important opportunity for American 
engagement with like-minded allies across Europe. Now is the time for 
serious diplomacy and coalition-building in the face of this threat. 
Our European friends spoke out in full opposition to Russia's attack on 
Sunday. Now let's see if we can work together to turn words into action 
and deter such Kremlin attacks in the future.
  Finally, as the situation in Ukraine grows more perilous, we in the 
Senate must also live up to our national security responsibilities. 
Following the President's failures in Helsinki, Senator Graham and I, 
along with others, introduced the Defending American Security from 
Kremlin Aggression Act, known as DASKAA. This legislation is more than 
another sanctions bill; it charts a comprehensive way forward for how 
the United States can better defend its interests and those of our 
close allies against Putin's unrelenting assault on our values, 
security, economic interests, and the rules-based international order.
  After months of Senate hearings on the legislation, we have nothing 
to show for it, as both the Senate Foreign Relations and Banking 
Committees have refused to mark up new legislation to respond to the 
Kremlin threat. What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? The 
alarm bells are ringing. Yet the Senate Republican leadership is sound 
asleep. They are asleep as Trump concedes more ground to the Kremlin in 
Ukraine and cyber space; asleep while Russian ships ram Ukrainian 
vessels in international waters and injure brave Ukrainian sailors; 
asleep while Vladimir Putin pounds away at our points of vulnerability.
  The American people deserve a vote on DASKAA before we leave for the 
holidays. Anything less would be a mark of shameful abdication of our 
responsibility to protect and defend our national interests.
  I hope this Chamber will wake up to this growing threat. Perhaps 
Sunday's attack will be a ringing alarm clock that compels this body 
and the international community to act.
  Finally, the American people cannot afford a weak performance by 
President Trump at the G20 summit, like we saw in Helsinki--cannot 
afford such a performance.
  President Trump, this is your opportunity to finally show American 
leadership in defense of our principles and our close allies across 
Europe.
  The time is now. It is critical. We are waiting to see that in fact 
the President can rise to the moment.