[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 94 (Wednesday, June 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I want to spend a few moments talking 
about a trip I took overseas last week. After honoring our fallen 
soldiers here at home in Central Ohio and in Southwest Ohio, I traveled 
to Ukraine, where I had a meeting scheduled with Ukraine's new 
President, Volodymyr Zelensky. On my way there, I stopped in London for 
trade meetings and briefings by our Ambassador and our excellent U.S. 
Embassy personnel there.
  I was very eager to meet President Zelensky. First of all, along with 
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I have been a longtime 
supporter of Ukraine's quest for self-determination, democracy, and 
freedom from Russian aggression. As cochair and cofounder of the Senate 
Ukraine Caucus, along with my colleague Dick Durbin of Illinois, I have 
been proud to take the lead since the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 in 
giving Ukrainians the lethal and nonlethal aid they need to defend 
themselves from aggression in Crimea and the Donbass region.
  Second, I share that enthusiasm for Ukraine that is held by so many 
of my constituents, friends of mine, particularly in Cleveland and that 
area, who are proud members of the Ukrainian diaspora.
  Third, I was very impressed with President Zelensky's election 
victory, in part because he received a remarkable 73 percent of the 
vote. I also thought his focus on reform and change was important for 
the country. I wanted to meet with him and learn more about how and why 
his appeals for unity largely succeeded.
  Fourth, I wanted to hear more about his plans to fight the aggression 
from Russia on his eastern border, fight corruption at home, and put in 
place the reforms that will make his country stronger.
  Finally, I wanted to tell him we are with him. The United States 
stands by Ukraine, and the ties between our two countries can deepen 
even further. We want to help Ukraine succeed in this historic moment.
  I can report to my colleagues that I came away impressed from the 
meeting with President Zelensky. I was encouraged. We talked for about 
an hour and covered a broad range of topics. He is smart, engaging, and 
determined.
  We had a good discussion about Russian aggression in Crimea and in 
the Donbass region. President Zelensky has been out to the contact 
line, which is where the fighting is occurring. I was there last year. 
There is a real war going on, and 13,000 people have been killed on the 
eastern border of Ukraine, on that contact line. He spoke frankly about 
the bravery of his troops but also about their needs in terms of the 
weapons systems and basic conditions. We talked about the Russian 
propaganda along the eastern border and the efforts to jam Ukrainian TV 
signals to sow the seeds for dissension for the people of the Donbass 
region. We talked about some ideas that would help to counter that 
propaganda, the jamming, and the disinformation, and I have already 
been in touch with the State Department about those ideas.
  We also talked about the 24 Ukrainian sailors who were captured by 
the Russians last November 25 in the Kerch Strait in the Azov Sea. At 
that time, President Trump rightly refused to meet with President Putin 
until those sailors were free. President Zelensky and I talked about 
how to keep the pressure on Moscow to do the right thing. I gave 
President Zelensky my commitment to do everything in our power here in 
the Senate to keep these 24 sailors front and center until the crisis 
is resolved.
  Recently, the United Nations issued a statement about these sailors, 
by the way. It read that they should be sent back to Ukraine, that 
their taking was wrong.
  I told President Zelensky that he is now the face of reform in 
Ukraine and, indeed, for those of us who are watching around the world. 
He acknowledged that with a smile. He said that his commitment to 
reform is real, but he also had no illusions about how hard reform will 
be. Whether we are talking about fighting corruption, fighting for 
transparency in government, or fighting for civilian control of the 
military, I am very hopeful he will have the continued courage to see 
it through. He understands it is the only path forward and, frankly, is 
a linchpin of the U.S. partnership with Ukraine. As a matter of law, it 
is also a condition on our future defense assistance.
  Finally, we talked about the importance of the Ukrainian diaspora in 
the United States--about 2 million people strong, thousands of whom 
live in Ohio, my constituents--and about how they are putting great 
hopes in his leadership and are willing to do all they can to help.
  As I said, it was a very productive meeting, and I am grateful for 
his time. Of all of the messages of that discussion, the one that was 
the most important to me was when I asked him how he could win by 73 
percent of the vote. He said:

       It was not about me. It was about change and reform and the 
     betterment of the people of Ukraine.

  It was a modest and appropriate response.
  The messages of our discussion were reinforced in my meetings 
afterward with Lieutenant General Ruslan Khomchak. He is the new chief 
of the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine--a man with great 
experience and knowledge. He was confident and well informed, and we 
had an open and detailed talk about how the United States can be 
helpful.
  I have already begun to talk to my colleagues on the Armed Services 
Committee and in the Trump administration about those specifics and 
some requests that he had.
  So, my colleagues, I return from this brief trip to Ukraine hopeful--
hopeful that Ukraine is ready to write the next chapter of its long 
history and that it will be a chapter of freedom with a government and 
society that benefits all of its citizens. The United States of America 
must continue to be a good friend and ally in that quest. I am 
certainly determined to do my part to make it so.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.