[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             AMERICA MUST DENY PUTIN HIS IMPERIAL AMBITIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Vladimir Putin has again reminded the 
world that he has no respect for international law, sovereignty of 
neighboring states, or peace in our world. Since 2014, Russia has 
illegally occupied Crimea and fueled a war in Eastern Ukraine. That 
followed Moscow's 2008 invasion of Georgia where its forces still 
occupy Georgian territory. Now, Russian forces have conducted another 
act of unprovoked aggression by blocking the Kerch Strait and attacking 
Ukrainian naval vessels in the Black Sea.
  This act of war is just another chapter in Putin's violent conquest 
of his neighbors' territory. His goal is to restore the power of 
Russia's imperial past. To do so requires seizing the lands and waters 
that were once controlled by Moscow and denying the right of free 
peoples to determine their own fate. Putin, an authoritarian thug, 
fears the democratic aspirations of nations that have shed the tyranny 
of the old Russian and Soviet orders. The success of the Color 
Revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia and their growing integration with 
the West strikes fear into the heart of a dictator like Putin, who 
relies on brutality and fear to cling to power. To survive, he has 
falsely framed the rising tide of democracy in the post-Soviet space as 
a threat to Russia, when in fact it is only a threat to Putin and his 
oligarch friends.
  The illegal annexation of Crimea and this week's seizure of the Sea 
of Azov are Putin's attempt to intimidate and undermine Ukraine's 
nascent democracy. By controlling these key strategic points, Putin 
believes he can demonstrate that only the Kremlin can ensure security 
and prosperity in the region and that Europe and America care little 
for the plight of Ukrainians. Instead it shows that Putin is a 
belligerent thug who only has violence and despair to offer.
  We Americans must stand with Ukraine. The Ukrainian people want to 
share in the freedom and wealth we long ago secured for ourselves by 
breaking the chains of foreign tyranny. Americans did not fight alone 
when we gained our independence, and Ukraine should not be left to 
fight alone either. We must develop a grand strategy to halt Putin's 
aggression and liberate the areas he illegally seized. This does not 
mean a direct conflict between the United States and Russia, but it 
does require us to act before Putin becomes so confident that he does 
attempt a direct assault on us or our NATO allies. America has the 
tools and leverage to thwart Putin's wicked ambitions--it's time to use 
them.
  And that's just the way it is.

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