[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 16, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4860-S4864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MARKING THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF UKRAINE'S REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY BY
HONORING THE BRAVERY, DETERMINATION, AND SACRIFICE OF THE PEOPLE OF
UKRAINE DURING AND SINCE THE REVOLUTION, AND CONDEMNING CONTINUED
RUSSIAN AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 103, S. Res. 74.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 74) marking the fifth anniversary of
Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity by honoring the bravery,
determination, and sacrifice of the people of Ukraine during
and since the Revolution, and condemning continued Russian
aggression against Ukraine.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign
Relations without amendment and with an amendment to the preamble, as
follows:
Whereas, on November 21, 2013, peaceful protests began on
Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv against the decision by
the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych to suspend
signing the Ukraine-European Union (EU) Association Agreement
and instead pursue closer ties with the Russian Federation;
[[Page S4861]]
Whereas the Maidan protests, initially referred to as the
Euromaidan, quickly drew thousands of people and broadened to
become a general demonstration in support of Ukraine's
integration with the European Union and against the corrupt
Yanukovych regime;
Whereas, on the night of November 30, 2013, Ukrainian
police forces surrounded and violently dispersed peaceful
protestors on the Maidan;
Whereas the next day, thousands of Euromaidan demonstrators
regrouped and resumed the protests for three months, despite
facing continuing and increasing violence from the police;
Whereas, on January 16, 2014, anti-protest laws, known as
the ``dictatorship laws'', were adopted by the Government of
Ukraine, which sought to restrict the actions of the
Euromaidan protestors;
Whereas these laws were condemned by Euromaidan protestors
as well as Western officials, including then-Secretary of
State John Kerry, who called them ``anti-democratic'';
Whereas many of these laws were repealed just 11 days after
being signed into law;
Whereas, on the night of February 18, 2014, police
assaulted and burned down the Trade Union Building in Kyiv,
which had been used as a headquarters for the Euromaidan
movement;
Whereas Yanukovych's government forces began using live
ammunition against the Euromaidan movement, leading to the
deaths of more than a hundred protestors who are now
remembered in Ukraine as the ``Heavenly Hundred'';
Whereas, on February 21, 2014, in the face of the ongoing
Euromaidan protests demanding his resignation, then-President
Viktor Yanukovych fled Kyiv, and then fled Ukraine the next
day;
Whereas, on February 22, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine recognized that Yanukovych had ceased his functions
as president, voted him from office, and scheduled early
presidential elections for May 25, 2014;
Whereas, on February 25, 2014, fulfilling demands of the
Maidan, Ukraine's special police force known as the Berkut
was dissolved, as it had been heavily involved in the
violence against the Euromaidan protestors;
Whereas the Ukrainian government's use of force against
activists throughout the Euromaidan protests, including the
use of live bullets, was widely condemned by Western
governments, including the United States, and ultimately
failed to discourage the Euromaidan movement;
Whereas, on September 1, 2017, the Ukraine-EU Association
Agreement came into force after its signing by the Government
of Ukraine and the EU;
Whereas, in response to Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity,
the Russian Federation launched military aggression against
Ukraine, illegally occupied Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and
instigated a war in eastern Ukraine, which is still ongoing
and has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainians;
Whereas the Russian Federation's attempted invasion and
annexation of Crimea has been widely seen as an effort to
stifle pro-democracy developments across Ukraine in 2014 in
the wake of the Revolution of Dignity;
Whereas 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of
the Budapest Memorandum, which committed the United States,
the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation to refrain
from the threat or use of force against Ukraine's territorial
integrity in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear
weapons;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1994
Budapest Memorandum and thus committed to respect the
independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of
Ukraine;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation is further
obligated to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine pursuant to
its commitments as a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act and
the Charter of the United Nations;
Whereas, on March 27, 2014, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 calling on states and
international organizations not to recognize any change in
Crimea's status and affirmed the commitment of the United
Nations to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States and European Union have imposed
sanctions on individuals and entities who have enabled the
attempted invasion, annexation, and occupation of Crimea;
Whereas, pursuant to the Revolution of Dignity's goal of
fighting corruption in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
adopted the Law On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)
of Ukraine on October 14, 2014;
Whereas, on June 26, 2018, the Law of Ukraine On the
Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court was signed
into law;
Whereas, on July 5, 2018, the Law on National Security was
signed into law, which has strengthened civilian control over
the Ukrainian military, increased transparency in the
security sector, and more clearly delineated the powers of
law enforcement agencies;
Whereas, on January 6, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople granted autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church, thus establishing the first independent Ukrainian
Orthodox Church in over 300 years;
Whereas despite requests by the Government of Ukraine, the
Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly refused
to extradite former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to
stand trial in Ukraine;
Whereas, on January 24, 2019, a Ukrainian court found
Yanukovych guilty in absentia of high treason and complicity
in conducting an aggressive war against Ukraine, and
sentenced him to 13 years in prison;
Whereas, in order to help Ukraine preserve its sovereignty
in the face of Russian aggression, the United States
Government has provided Ukraine with over $1,000,000,000 in
security assistance, including critical defensive items such
as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Island-class cutters; and
Whereas, in the 115th Congress, both the United States
Senate and the United States House of Representatives passed
resolutions commemorating the 85th anniversary of the
Holodomor, the Soviet Union's manmade famine that it
committed against the people of Ukraine in 1932 and 1933:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) remembers the courage and resolve shown by the
Ukrainian people in the Revolution of Dignity;
(2) solemnly honors the ``Heavenly Hundred'' who were
killed during the Revolution of Dignity while fighting for
the causes of freedom and democracy in Ukraine;
(3) applauds the progress that the Government of Ukraine
has made since the Revolution of Dignity in strengthening the
rule of law, aligning itself with Euro-Atlantic norms and
standards, and improving military combat readiness and
interoperability with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO);
(4) encourages the Government of Ukraine to continue
implementing crucial reforms to fight corruption, build
strong and free markets, and strengthen democracy and the
rule of law;
(5) affirms the United States Government's unwavering
commitment to supporting the continuing efforts of the
Government of Ukraine to implement democratic and free market
reforms, restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, as well
as providing additional lethal and non-lethal security
assistance to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities on
land, sea, and in the air in order to improve deterrence
against Russian aggression;
(6) condemns the Russian Federation's ongoing malign
activities against Ukraine and renews its call on the
Government of the Russian Federation to immediately cease all
activity that seeks to undermine Ukraine and destabilize the
European continent;
(7) reiterates its strong condemnation of the provocative
actions and unjustified use of military force by the
Government of the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait
against the Ukrainian Navy on November 25, 2018, as a blatant
violation of the Russian Federation's commitments under
international law and the 2003 Treaty Between the Russian
Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea
of Azov and the Kerch Strait;
(8) expresses its support to all Ukrainian political
prisoners convicted on fabricated charges and incarcerated by
Russian or Russian-controlled authorities, including the
Ukrainian sailors seized in the November 25, 2018, attack
near the Kerch Strait who are due treatment under the 1949
Geneva Conventions and have been illegally kept in detention
in the territory of the Russian Federation, while renewing
its strong call on the Kremlin to immediately release these
Ukrainian citizens;
(9) affirms the Department of State's Crimea Declaration,
announced on July 25, 2018, that rejects Russia's attempted
annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy
until Ukraine's territorial integrity is restored;
(10) believes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline poses a major
threat to European security, seeks to further undermine
Ukraine's economic stability, and threatens to increase the
country's vulnerability to further Russian military
incursions;
(11) calls upon the United States Government, as well as
its international allies and partners, to maintain a strong
sanctions regime against the Russian Federation until it
upholds its international obligations towards Ukraine,
including the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and
the Minsk Agreements; and
(12) congratulates the people of Ukraine on the
announcement on January 6, 2019, of autocephaly for an
independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which has marked an
important milestone in Ukraine's pursuit of its own future
free from Russian influence.
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Portman
amendment to the resolution at the desk be considered and agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 926) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to
as follows:
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following: ``That the Senate--
(1) remembers the courage and resolve shown by the
Ukrainian people in the Revolution of Dignity;
(2) solemnly honors the ``Heavenly Hundred'' who were
killed during the Revolution of Dignity while fighting for
the causes of freedom and democracy in Ukraine;
(3) applauds the progress that the Government of Ukraine
has made since the Revolution of Dignity in strengthening the
rule of law, aligning itself with Euro-Atlantic norms and
standards, and improving military combat readiness and
interoperability with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO);
(4) encourages the Government of Ukraine to continue
implementing crucial reforms to
[[Page S4862]]
fight corruption, build strong and free markets, and
strengthen democracy and the rule of law;
(5) affirms the United States Government's unwavering
commitment to supporting the continuing efforts of the
Government of Ukraine to implement democratic and free market
reforms, restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, as well
as providing additional lethal and non-lethal security
assistance to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities on
land, sea, and in the air in order to improve deterrence
against Russian aggression;
(6) condemns the Russian Federation's ongoing malign
activities against Ukraine and renews its call on the
Government of the Russian Federation to immediately cease all
activity that seeks to undermine Ukraine and destabilize the
European continent;
(7) declares that nothing in this resolution shall be
construed as an authorization for the use of military force;
(8) reiterates its strong condemnation of the provocative
actions and unjustified use of military force by the
Government of the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait
against the Ukrainian Navy on November 25, 2018, as a blatant
violation of the Russian Federation's commitments under
international law and the 2003 Treaty Between the Russian
Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea
of Azov and the Kerch Strait;
(9) expresses its support to all Ukrainian political
prisoners convicted on fabricated charges and incarcerated by
Russian or Russian-controlled authorities, including the
Ukrainian sailors seized in the November 25, 2018, attack
near the Kerch Strait who are due treatment under the 1949
Geneva Conventions and have been illegally kept in detention
in the territory of the Russian Federation, while renewing
its strong call on the Kremlin to immediately release these
Ukrainian citizens;
(10) affirms the Department of State's Crimea Declaration,
announced on July 25, 2018, that rejects Russia's attempted
annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy
until Ukraine's territorial integrity is restored;
(11) believes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline poses a major
threat to European security, seeks to further undermine
Ukraine's economic stability, and threatens to increase the
country's vulnerability to further Russian military
incursions;
(12) calls upon the United States Government, as well as
its international allies and partners, to maintain a strong
sanctions regime against the Russian Federation until it
upholds its international obligations towards Ukraine,
including the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and
the Minsk Agreements;
(13) congratulates the people of Ukraine on the
announcement on January 6, 2019, of autocephaly for an
independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which has marked an
important milestone in Ukraine's pursuit of its own future
free from Russian influence;
(14) congratulates the people of Ukraine on the successful
conclusion of free and fair presidential elections in the
spring of 2019, and on the inauguration of the new President
of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky;
(15) believes that the strengthening of Ukraine's democracy
over the past five years, most visibly displayed in the
conduct of the country's recent presidential election and
peaceful transition of power, should serve as a positive
example to other post-Soviet countries; and
(16) looks forward to the peaceful, free, and fair conduct
of Ukraine's upcoming parliamentary elections.
Mr. THUNE. I know of no further debate on the resolution, as amended.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
Hearing none, the question is on passage of the resolution.
The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I further ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported amendment to the preamble be withdrawn; that the
Portman amendment to the preamble at the desk be considered and agreed
to; that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment to the preamble was withdrawn.
The amendment (No. 925) was agreed to as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the preamble)
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas, on November 21, 2013, peaceful protests began on
Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv against the decision by
the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych to suspend
signing the Ukraine-European Union (EU) Association Agreement
and instead pursue closer ties with the Russian Federation;
Whereas the Maidan protests, initially referred to as the
Euromaidan, quickly drew thousands of people and broadened to
become a general demonstration in support of Ukraine's
integration with the European Union and against the corrupt
Yanukovych regime;
Whereas, on the night of November 30, 2013, Ukrainian
police forces surrounded and violently dispersed peaceful
protestors on the Maidan;
Whereas the next day, thousands of Euromaidan demonstrators
regrouped and resumed the protests for three months, despite
facing continuing and increasing violence from the police;
Whereas, on January 16, 2014, anti-protest laws, known as
the dictatorship laws, were adopted by the Government of
Ukraine, which sought to restrict the actions of the
Euromaidan protestors;
Whereas these laws were condemned by Euromaidan protestors
as well as Western officials, including then-Secretary of
State John Kerry, who called them anti-democratic;
Whereas many of these laws were repealed just 11 days after
being signed into law;
Whereas, on the night of February 18, 2014, police
assaulted and burned down the Trade Union Building in Kyiv,
which had been used as a headquarters for the Euromaidan
movement;
Whereas Yanukovych's government forces began using live
ammunition against the Euromaidan movement, leading to the
deaths of more than a hundred protestors who are now
remembered in Ukraine as the Heavenly Hundred;
Whereas, on February 21, 2014, in the face of the ongoing
Euromaidan protests demanding his resignation, then-President
Viktor Yanukovych fled Kyiv, and then fled Ukraine the next
day;
Whereas, on February 22, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine recognized that Yanukovych had ceased his functions
as president, voted him from office, and scheduled early
presidential elections for May 25, 2014;
Whereas, on February 25, 2014, fulfilling demands of the
Maidan, Ukraine's special police force known as the Berkut
was dissolved, as it had been heavily involved in the
violence against the Euromaidan protestors;
Whereas the Ukrainian government's use of force against
activists throughout the Euromaidan protests, including the
use of live bullets, was widely condemned by Western
governments, including the United States, and ultimately
failed to discourage the Euromaidan movement;
Whereas, on September 1, 2017, the Ukraine-EU Association
Agreement came into force after its signing by the Government
of Ukraine and the EU;
Whereas, in response to Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity,
the Russian Federation launched military aggression against
Ukraine, illegally occupied Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and
instigated a war in eastern Ukraine, which is still ongoing
and has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainians;
Whereas the Russian Federation's attempted invasion and
annexation of Crimea has been widely seen as an effort to
stifle pro-democracy developments across Ukraine in 2014 in
the wake of the Revolution of Dignity;
Whereas 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of
the Budapest Memorandum, which committed the United States,
the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation to refrain
from the threat or use of force against Ukraine's territorial
integrity in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear
weapons;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1994
Budapest Memorandum and thus committed to respect the
independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of
Ukraine;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation is further
obligated to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine pursuant to
its commitments as a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act and
the Charter of the United Nations;
Whereas, on March 27, 2014, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 calling on states and
international organizations not to recognize any change in
Crimea's status and affirmed the commitment of the United
Nations to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States and European Union have imposed
sanctions on individuals and entities who have enabled the
attempted invasion, annexation, and occupation of Crimea;
Whereas, pursuant to the Revolution of Dignity's goal of
fighting corruption in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
adopted the Law On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)
of Ukraine on October 14, 2014;
Whereas, on June 26, 2018, the Law of Ukraine On the
Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court was signed
into law;
Whereas, on July 5, 2018, the Law on National Security was
signed into law, which has strengthened civilian control over
the Ukrainian military, increased transparency in the
security sector, and more clearly delineated the powers of
law enforcement agencies;
Whereas, on January 6, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople granted autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church, thus establishing the first independent Ukrainian
Orthodox Church in over 300 years;
Whereas despite requests by the Government of Ukraine, the
Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly refused
to extradite former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to
stand trial in Ukraine;
[[Page S4863]]
Whereas, on January 24, 2019, a Ukrainian court found
Yanukovych guilty in absentia of high treason and complicity
in conducting an aggressive war against Ukraine, and
sentenced him to 13 years in prison;
Whereas, in order to help Ukraine preserve its sovereignty
in the face of Russian aggression, the United States
Government has provided Ukraine with over $1,000,000,000 in
security assistance, including critical defensive items such
as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Island-class cutters;
Whereas, in the 115th Congress, both the United States
Senate and the United States House of Representatives passed
resolutions commemorating the 85th anniversary of the
Holodomor, the Soviet Union's manmade famine that it
committed against the people of Ukraine in 1932 and 1933;
Whereas, on March 31, 2019 and April 21, 2019, Ukraine held
the first and second rounds of its presidential election;
Whereas these elections were widely recognized by
international observers as being free, fair, and conducted
without serious, widespread irregularities;
Whereas the large turnout and civic activism related to the
election highlight the ongoing support of the Ukrainian
people for continued Western integration, political,
economic, and judicial reform, and renewed anticorruption
efforts;
Whereas Volodymyr Zelensky won Ukraine's presidential
election and was inaugurated on May 20, 2019, concluding a
peaceful transfer of power from former President Petro
Poroshenko; and
Whereas parliamentary elections in Ukraine are scheduled
for July 21, 2019: Now, therefore, be it
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution (S. Res. 74), as amended, and its preamble, as
amended, was agreed to as follows:
S. Res. 74
Whereas, on November 21, 2013, peaceful protests began on
Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv against the decision by
the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych to suspend
signing the Ukraine-European Union (EU) Association Agreement
and instead pursue closer ties with the Russian Federation;
Whereas the Maidan protests, initially referred to as the
Euromaidan, quickly drew thousands of people and broadened to
become a general demonstration in support of Ukraine's
integration with the European Union and against the corrupt
Yanukovych regime;
Whereas, on the night of November 30, 2013, Ukrainian
police forces surrounded and violently dispersed peaceful
protestors on the Maidan;
Whereas the next day, thousands of Euromaidan demonstrators
regrouped and resumed the protests for three months, despite
facing continuing and increasing violence from the police;
Whereas, on January 16, 2014, anti-protest laws, known as
the dictatorship laws, were adopted by the Government of
Ukraine, which sought to restrict the actions of the
Euromaidan protestors;
Whereas these laws were condemned by Euromaidan protestors
as well as Western officials, including then-Secretary of
State John Kerry, who called them anti-democratic;
Whereas many of these laws were repealed just 11 days after
being signed into law;
Whereas, on the night of February 18, 2014, police
assaulted and burned down the Trade Union Building in Kyiv,
which had been used as a headquarters for the Euromaidan
movement;
Whereas Yanukovych's government forces began using live
ammunition against the Euromaidan movement, leading to the
deaths of more than a hundred protestors who are now
remembered in Ukraine as the Heavenly Hundred;
Whereas, on February 21, 2014, in the face of the ongoing
Euromaidan protests demanding his resignation, then-President
Viktor Yanukovych fled Kyiv, and then fled Ukraine the next
day;
Whereas, on February 22, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of
Ukraine recognized that Yanukovych had ceased his functions
as president, voted him from office, and scheduled early
presidential elections for May 25, 2014;
Whereas, on February 25, 2014, fulfilling demands of the
Maidan, Ukraine's special police force known as the Berkut
was dissolved, as it had been heavily involved in the
violence against the Euromaidan protestors;
Whereas the Ukrainian government's use of force against
activists throughout the Euromaidan protests, including the
use of live bullets, was widely condemned by Western
governments, including the United States, and ultimately
failed to discourage the Euromaidan movement;
Whereas, on September 1, 2017, the Ukraine-EU Association
Agreement came into force after its signing by the Government
of Ukraine and the EU;
Whereas, in response to Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity,
the Russian Federation launched military aggression against
Ukraine, illegally occupied Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and
instigated a war in eastern Ukraine, which is still ongoing
and has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainians;
Whereas the Russian Federation's attempted invasion and
annexation of Crimea has been widely seen as an effort to
stifle pro-democracy developments across Ukraine in 2014 in
the wake of the Revolution of Dignity;
Whereas 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of
the Budapest Memorandum, which committed the United States,
the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation to refrain
from the threat or use of force against Ukraine's territorial
integrity in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear
weapons;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1994
Budapest Memorandum and thus committed to respect the
independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of
Ukraine;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation is further
obligated to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine pursuant to
its commitments as a signatory to the Helsinki Final Act and
the Charter of the United Nations;
Whereas, on March 27, 2014, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 calling on states and
international organizations not to recognize any change in
Crimea's status and affirmed the commitment of the United
Nations to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine;
Whereas the United States and European Union have imposed
sanctions on individuals and entities who have enabled the
attempted invasion, annexation, and occupation of Crimea;
Whereas, pursuant to the Revolution of Dignity's goal of
fighting corruption in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
adopted the Law On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)
of Ukraine on October 14, 2014;
Whereas, on June 26, 2018, the Law of Ukraine On the
Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court was signed
into law;
Whereas, on July 5, 2018, the Law on National Security was
signed into law, which has strengthened civilian control over
the Ukrainian military, increased transparency in the
security sector, and more clearly delineated the powers of
law enforcement agencies;
Whereas, on January 6, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople granted autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church, thus establishing the first independent Ukrainian
Orthodox Church in over 300 years;
Whereas despite requests by the Government of Ukraine, the
Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly refused
to extradite former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych to
stand trial in Ukraine;
Whereas, on January 24, 2019, a Ukrainian court found
Yanukovych guilty in absentia of high treason and complicity
in conducting an aggressive war against Ukraine, and
sentenced him to 13 years in prison;
Whereas, in order to help Ukraine preserve its sovereignty
in the face of Russian aggression, the United States
Government has provided Ukraine with over $1,000,000,000 in
security assistance, including critical defensive items such
as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Island-class cutters;
Whereas, in the 115th Congress, both the United States
Senate and the United States House of Representatives passed
resolutions commemorating the 85th anniversary of the
Holodomor, the Soviet Union's manmade famine that it
committed against the people of Ukraine in 1932 and 1933;
Whereas, on March 31, 2019 and April 21, 2019, Ukraine held
the first and second rounds of its presidential election;
Whereas these elections were widely recognized by
international observers as being free, fair, and conducted
without serious, widespread irregularities;
Whereas the large turnout and civic activism related to the
election highlight the ongoing support of the Ukrainian
people for continued Western integration, political,
economic, and judicial reform, and renewed anticorruption
efforts;
Whereas Volodymyr Zelensky won Ukraine's presidential
election and was inaugurated on May 20, 2019, concluding a
peaceful transfer of power from former President Petro
Poroshenko; and
Whereas parliamentary elections in Ukraine are scheduled
for July 21, 2019: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) remembers the courage and resolve shown by the
Ukrainian people in the Revolution of Dignity;
(2) solemnly honors the ``Heavenly Hundred'' who were
killed during the Revolution of Dignity while fighting for
the causes of freedom and democracy in Ukraine;
(3) applauds the progress that the Government of Ukraine
has made since the Revolution of Dignity in strengthening the
rule of law, aligning itself with Euro-Atlantic norms and
standards, and improving military combat readiness and
interoperability with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO);
(4) encourages the Government of Ukraine to continue
implementing crucial reforms to fight corruption, build
strong and free markets, and strengthen democracy and the
rule of law;
(5) affirms the United States Government's unwavering
commitment to supporting the continuing efforts of the
Government of Ukraine to implement democratic and free market
reforms, restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, as well
as providing additional lethal and non-lethal security
assistance to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities on
land, sea, and in the air in order
[[Page S4864]]
to improve deterrence against Russian aggression;
(6) condemns the Russian Federation's ongoing malign
activities against Ukraine and renews its call on the
Government of the Russian Federation to immediately cease all
activity that seeks to undermine Ukraine and destabilize the
European continent;
(7) declares that nothing in this resolution shall be
construed as an authorization for the use of military force;
(8) reiterates its strong condemnation of the provocative
actions and unjustified use of military force by the
Government of the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait
against the Ukrainian Navy on November 25, 2018, as a blatant
violation of the Russian Federation's commitments under
international law and the 2003 Treaty Between the Russian
Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea
of Azov and the Kerch Strait;
(9) expresses its support to all Ukrainian political
prisoners convicted on fabricated charges and incarcerated by
Russian or Russian-controlled authorities, including the
Ukrainian sailors seized in the November 25, 2018, attack
near the Kerch Strait who are due treatment under the 1949
Geneva Conventions and have been illegally kept in detention
in the territory of the Russian Federation, while renewing
its strong call on the Kremlin to immediately release these
Ukrainian citizens;
(10) affirms the Department of State's Crimea Declaration,
announced on July 25, 2018, that rejects Russia's attempted
annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy
until Ukraine's territorial integrity is restored;
(11) believes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline poses a major
threat to European security, seeks to further undermine
Ukraine's economic stability, and threatens to increase the
country's vulnerability to further Russian military
incursions;
(12) calls upon the United States Government, as well as
its international allies and partners, to maintain a strong
sanctions regime against the Russian Federation until it
upholds its international obligations towards Ukraine,
including the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and
the Minsk Agreements;
(13) congratulates the people of Ukraine on the
announcement on January 6, 2019, of autocephaly for an
independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which has marked an
important milestone in Ukraine's pursuit of its own future
free from Russian influence;
(14) congratulates the people of Ukraine on the successful
conclusion of free and fair presidential elections in the
spring of 2019, and on the inauguration of the new President
of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky;
(15) believes that the strengthening of Ukraine's democracy
over the past five years, most visibly displayed in the
conduct of the country's recent presidential election and
peaceful transition of power, should serve as a positive
example to other post-Soviet countries; and
(16) looks forward to the peaceful, free, and fair conduct
of Ukraine's upcoming parliamentary elections.
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