[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 38 (Monday, March 4, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1615-S1616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I rise to speak on Russia's ongoing and 
illegal occupation of Ukraine.
  Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Ukraine where I saw 
firsthand the effects of nearly 5 years of Russian occupation, 
aggression, and hostilities suffered by the Ukrainian people.
  Since Russia's illegal seizure of Crimea in March of 2014 and their 
subsequent invasion of eastern Ukraine's Donbas region the following 
month, over 10,000--10,000--people have been killed and many more have 
been wounded or displaced in the fighting. Hiding behind so-called pro-
Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, the regime of Vladimir Putin 
has indiscriminately targeted both civilian and military targets, 
across the line of contact, in flagrant violation of the Minsk 
ceasefire and the law of war. In fact, shelling was occurring just 1 
day prior to my visit to the Eastern Front.
  The Eastern Front, even saying it now, before my colleagues in the 
Senate, the phrase seems almost surreal and harkens back to a bygone 
era in which the Cold War dominated our political landscape.
  The first time I visited Ukraine was in 1989--1989--as part of an 
agricultural exchange program. The Soviet Union was on the verge of 
collapse, and the spirit of independence, freedom, and self-
determination was gaining steam. My gracious Ukrainian hosts didn't 
want to discuss farming. It was an agricultural exchange, but they 
didn't want to discuss farming. They wanted to know what it was like to 
be an American. They wanted to know what it was like to have freedom 
and be independent.
  Just like the oppressive yoke of authoritarianism dominated Ukraine 
in 1989, it once again threatens a people who have fought hard to 
create a nation of laws accountable to its people and as champions of 
human dignity, free markets, and democratic values. With our help, 
Ukraine has managed to hold the line against the Russian aggressors. 
Our security assistance, in the form of intelligence-sharing, special 
operations capacity-building, and, most recently, the delivery of 
Javelin anti-tank weapons, has enabled the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 
deter further Russian advances into free Ukraine and has caused the 
Russian military forces in occupied Donbas to pull their tanks farther 
away from the frontline.
  Unfortunately, Russia has found other ways to attack Ukrainian 
interests. In November of 2018, just a few months ago, Russian naval 
vessels opened fire and captured three Ukrainian ships along with 24 
sailors in international waters just south of the Kerch Strait. 
Demonstrating his contempt for the international rules-based order, 
Vladimir Putin is using his naval supremacy in the region to slowly 
strangle the Ukrainian economy, which relies, in part, on steel and 
grain shipping from ports in the Sea of Azov. While our military aid 
has been successful in assisting Ukrainian efforts along the line of 
contact in Donbas, future military aid must take into account Ukraine's 
need for defensive weapons and asymmetric capabilities to counter 
Russian aggression both on land and at sea. Only then can Ukraine 
adequately defend its people and sovereignty.
  In addition to hostile military action, Russian intelligence has been 
working to undermine the upcoming Ukrainian Presidential and 
parliamentary elections. Much like the interference in our own 
elections in 2016, Putin is seeking to sow discord, spread confusion, 
and undermine the democratic system that has taken root in Ukraine. 
This is indicative of Russia's global strategy, which seeks to drive a 
wedge between the United States and our allies, undermine democratic 
governments, and return to an era of power politics in which brute 
strength rather than the rule of law governs global interactions.
  China has adopted a similar, albeit more subtle and increasingly 
aggressive, strategy in Asia, with an overarching goal of displacing 
American global leadership. Thus, it is more important than ever for 
the United States to work by, with, and through our allies around the 
world to ensure a future in which our values of freedom, the rule of 
law, human rights, and free markets prevail for generations to come.
  Today freedom's frontier runs through the line of contact in eastern 
Ukraine. We must never turn our backs on a people yearning for the same 
freedoms we enjoy in the United States. Doing so not only legitimizes 
the actions of thugs--yes, thugs--around the world but will inevitably 
threaten our own rights and freedoms tomorrow, which many of us take 
for granted today.

[[Page S1616]]

  We are Americans, and we will always answer the call to preserve 
freedom while reaching out a hand to those who are fighting to achieve 
it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama is recognized.