[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S431-S433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Ukraine
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I am here today to talk about the
escalating aggression by Russia against Ukraine, an ally and a
sovereign country whose territorial integrity is once again under
attack. In our generation, this is where the fight for freedom is being
held; this is where it is being waged. It is going to affect not just
Ukraine and Eastern Europe but countries all over the world, depending
on the outcome.
Today, I am going to address what I think the appropriate role is for
us as Americans, what more we can do to help avoid what could become an
international disaster and a humanitarian crisis.
Russia is the aggressor here, having invaded Ukraine twice in the
past 8 years, illegally annexing Crimea, inserting troops and offensive
military weaponry into the Donbas region of Ukraine, initiating cyber
attacks against public and private entities in Ukraine, and using
disinformation to try to destabilize the democratically elected
Government of Ukraine.
Now they have gone further by amassing more than 100,000 troops under
the command of 100 tactical groups on Russia's Ukrainian border. This
Russian deployment includes rockets and tanks and artillery and is no
longer just on the eastern border of Ukraine, but it is now across the
borders, including the northern border, where Russian combat troops and
heavy equipment have gone into Belarus. And on the Belarus-Ukrainian
border, a Russian presence is being felt. It is also in Crimea and in
the Black Sea area, where Russia is taking advantage of their illegal
annexation to move troops in those areas close to Ukraine.
I will give you a little history about how we got here. Eight years
ago, the people of Ukraine made a clear choice. They stood up to a
Russian-backed, corrupt government in 2014 and made a conscious
decision to turn to the West, to the European Union, to us, the United
States of America.
I was in Ukraine in 2014, shortly after what is called the
Euromaidan, also the Revolution of Dignity. The barricades were still
there. And in the center of town, the Maidan, in Kyiv, was occupied
still by Ukrainian patriots, insisting that Ukraine chart its own
course. The Ukrainian people had rejected authoritarianism and,
instead, embraced freedom, embraced democracy, freedom of speech,
freedom to gather, freedom for the respect of law, respect for the
judicial institutions in the country, and free markets.
Now, have they stumbled along the way sometimes with regard to
reforms, including of the judicial system? Yes, of course. Most
fledgling democracies do; all of them do. But they have made tremendous
progress, and they are on their way toward becoming what they wanted to
become at the time 8 years ago--again, this Revolution of Dignity that
is called the Euromaidan--more like a Western European or Eastern
European country that is part of the EU.
Despite Russia's unrelenting efforts to destabilize Ukraine over the
past 8 years, the people of Ukraine have remained committed to this
independent, sovereign, and democratic principle, that vision.
And Ukrainians today are actually increasingly patriotic and opposed
to the Russian efforts to destabilize their country. According to
polling data, this sentiment is especially true among young people,
which makes sense because they have tasted the fruits of freedom--free
enterprise, the ability to express themselves, the ability to connect
with the rest of the free world. They don't want state control. They
don't want repression. They don't want fear. Instead, they want liberty
and prosperity.
Moscow and Russia would have the world believe that somehow this
massive, unwarranted Russian buildup is about trying to shore up its
border against threats from Ukraine and from NATO, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization. Nothing could be further from the truth, of
course. This is patently false. Ukraine's military posture has always
been defensive. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has upheld its commitments under
the Minsk agreements, which were designed to ensure a cease-fire in the
Donbas region, the eastern part of Ukraine. NATO, of course, is
defensive. It is not an offensive group and is no threat to Russian
territorial integrity.
My hope is that Congress can come together this week--Republicans,
Democrats, Senate, and House--and issue a strong message to the people
of Ukraine that we stand with them in their fight for freedom; to
Russia that if they choose to invade, the armed conflict will carry a
heavy cost, and the sanctions that would result from that would be
devastating; and then to the world that the United States stands with
its allies, not just in Eastern Europe but throughout the freedom-
loving countries of the world.
I am hoping Congress will pass an extensive sanctions package,
including increased security funding for Ukraine, more resources for
cyber security, and funding for the Global Engagement Center at the
U.S. State Department to help push back on Russian disinformation.
I want to say a word about our allies. In many respects, I believe
that what Vladimir Putin has done by these aggressive actions we talked
about is to strengthen the transatlantic alliance,
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including those countries that are part of NATO, and go beyond that,
countries in other parts of the world that understand that this is
about the cause of freedom. So many have stepped up. Denmark is
providing F-16 jets to nearby Lithuania. Spain is sending ships to join
a NATO fleet. France is getting ready to send troops to Romania, they
say. The United Kingdom has sent anti-tank weapons directly to Kyiv and
supported Ukraine in so many ways.
When I was in Ukraine recently, I was there to see a cargo plane
unload anti-tank weapons from the UK to Ukraine. And recently, the
United States has not just increased our military assistance to Ukraine
to help it defend itself, but also we have placed 8,500 of our troops
on heightened alert to go to be with our NATO allies in the region in
Eastern Europe. They, of course, welcome that.
Ukraine, by the way, has never asked for U.S. troops or NATO troops
to defend Ukraine. They have asked for help to be able to defend
themselves. And that is an important distinction.
On the Russian pipeline to Europe called Nord Stream--I think it was
a bad idea before all this started and I think it is even a worse idea
now--Russia provides Germany with roughly one-third of their natural
gas supply already, a dependency that will increase substantially with
the activation of the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline.
Let's not forget, this multimillion-dollar pipeline is one that this
body, the U.S. Senate, chose not to impose sanctions on just a few
weeks ago after we had already done so once before on a bipartisan
basis. I will say the vote last week was not 60 votes, but it was a
majority of this body voting to impose sanctions because, again, the
Nord Stream 2 Pipeline is a bad idea in terms of the dependency of
Europe on Russia.
Once the pipeline is complete, it will supply a lot of Russian gas to
Germany, the rest of Europe, and Russia will use it as a political
weapon. We have seen this. This is no surprise that they would do it.
They did in it in Moldova, and of course they have done it in Ukraine.
Even today, German prices are being affected by what Russia decides
is appropriate. Germany has told us privately that they are willing to
shut down the pipeline if Russia invades Ukraine, but they should say
so publicly and clearly.
I am also concerned about Germany's resistance to approving arms
sales to Ukraine. Again, Ukraine just wants the help to be able to
defend itself. A great example of this is some artillery pieces that
were made in East Germany decades ago. Those artillery pieces, those
howitzers, are now in the hands of the Estonians. The Estonians want to
provide these weapons to the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians want them. Even
though they are older howitzers, they need them. They need the
artillery. And yet, because they were made in Germany--in East
Germany--decades ago, under the licensing agreement, Germany has to
approve Estonia sending Ukraine these weapons they so desperately need.
That approval has not been forthcoming.
To me, this is outrageous that Ukraine is not receiving the weapons
it needs because another country that is part of the NATO alliance is
saying that they are not going to approve the transfer. I hope that
will change. I hope very soon we will see that transfer approved.
Germany, by the way, might say--as I have heard from some, and I have
had conversations about this with them--that they don't like to send
weapons into hot spots. Well, they are certainly happy to send weapons
into the Middle East. In fact, last year, as I understand it, it was
their largest year ever of exports of military weapons made in Germany
to other countries, including to countries like Egypt, as an example.
So we need to be sure that we are doing all we can to avoid Russia
making this terrible mistake. And a big part of this should be all the
countries in the region, certainly our NATO allies, standing up and
providing military assistance to Ukraine and making clear that if
something happens, that the consequences will be devastating because of
sanctions.
The cost of freedom in Eastern Europe is at stake here, but so is,
really, the stability of all of Europe. The Ukrainian officials
themselves have talked about this. The Foreign Minister, Foreign
Minister Kuleba, whom I met with recently in Ukraine, stated that
Germany is taking a stance that ``does not correspond with the level of
our relations and the current security situation.''
I agree.
People listening may be wondering: Why should the United States get
engaged here? Why is this Senator from Ohio passionate about this?
Well, first, in Ohio, we have a lot of Ukrainians I have gotten to
know over the years, and it is not just about the Ukrainian Americans
in Ohio; it is about people from all over that part of the world--
Central Europe, Eastern Europe, certainly the Baltics, Lithuania,
Latvia. The people whom I talk to tell me that this is, again, a
seminal moment, not just in the history of Ukraine, but in the history
of our world because, again, it is the fight for freedom being played
out right before our eyes. These nationality groups, including, of
course, the Ukrainian Americans, are deeply concerned that this
continued aggression unchecked will lead to other countries, including
the Baltics, including Poland and others, being subject to the same
kind of pressure from Russia.
But it is also because I believe what happens in Ukraine does affect
the cause of freedom more broadly. Countries all over the world are
watching. Authoritarian countries are watching. Democratically elected
countries are watching. And they are wondering, in the 21st century,
are we going to allow something like this to occur, when one country
looks to another and says that I want that country so I am going to
invade and take that land?
Again, until we had the invasion of Crimea only 8 years ago, this
hadn't happened in almost 80 years since World War II on the continent
of Europe.
This is something that countries are watching to get a message to see
whether the United States is going to continue to be the country that
joins with others, including our NATO alliance but a much broader group
of freedom-loving countries to stand up for the cause of freedom and to
stand up for the right of a sovereign country to be able to protect its
own borders.
I recently joined a bipartisan delegation led by me and my good
friend Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Senator Murphy, who is on the floor
tonight, was also with us. We personally met with President Zelensky.
We also met with four or five other Cabinet officials, including the
Secretary of Defense. We talked about the U.S. commitment to provide
military assistance to ensure Ukraine can defend itself and deter the
threat. If you talk to these individuals and you talk to the military
officials we talked to and the commanders--and I have also been to the
line of contact, where this hot water is going on with Russia even
today in the Donbas region. I have been there. I have talked to the
troops. You will see that there is a commitment, a strong commitment by
the Ukrainians to defend themselves. They get that this is a critical
time in their history.
We tried to send a clear message on a bipartisan basis. I believe we
did. I believe that this time--this time--unlike 2014, when, frankly,
Ukraine and the world wasn't ready, that the situation is very
different. The military is prepared. The people of Ukraine have a
strong sense of nationalism and a deep patriotism and they will fight
and this will be a bloody conflict that we all want to avoid.
The other thing I will say about Ukraine is they are our friends.
They are our allies. They share our values. When the United States was
looking for help in Iraq and Afghanistan, some NATO partners came
through, but so did Ukraine. Ukrainian troops were shoulder to shoulder
with American troops during some very tough situations in those
countries. These are our friends. This is a country that has allied
with us because they believe that that is the best future for the
Ukrainian people.
It is time for us to stand with them in response to this unwarranted
and unprovoked Russian aggression. My hope is that Congress will act on
a bipartisan and bicameral basis--the House and Senate, Republicans and
Democrats--and send a strong message to Russia that would avoid a
bloody conflict, deter them from taking the
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actions that they are contemplating and making a terrible mistake, but
also that we would send a strong message to the people of Ukraine to
give them strength during this time, and, finally, a message to the
global community that the lamp of freedom will not be extinguished.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.