[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 559--EXPRESSING GRATITUDE ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF 
  THE UNITED STATES TO THE JOURNALISTS AND NEWS STAFF WHO ARE RISKING 
  INJURY AND DEATH, ARE SUBJECT TO GRAVE THREAT, AND HAVE SACRIFICED 
  THEIR LIVES, TO CHRONICLE AND REPORT ON THE ONGOING WAR IN UKRAINE 
            RESULTING FROM THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION'S INVASION

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 559

       Whereas Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union 
     on August 24, 1991, and that independence was reaffirmed in a 
     popular referendum on December 1, 1991;
       Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian military invaded 
     the sovereign country of Ukraine under the direction of 
     President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin (referred 
     to in this preamble as ``Putin''), carrying out attacks on 
     cities with ballistic missiles, heavy artillery, and tanks;
       Whereas Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions includes the 
     Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 
     prohibiting attacks on civilian persons and populations, and 
     defines journalists and war correspondents as civilians;
       Whereas the Russian Federation was an original signatory to 
     the Geneva Conventions until Putin removed the Russian 
     Federation from Protocol in October 2019, demonstrating a 
     clear disregard for innocent life;
       Whereas, as of March 29, 2022, thousands of civilians, 
     including children, are recorded as having been killed during 
     the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine;
       Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground in 
     Ukraine, reporting freelance, reporting for global networks 
     and media, and working on documentary efforts to record the 
     ongoing humanitarian crisis and war caused by the Russian 
     Federation's invasion of the sovereign country of Ukraine;
       Whereas many of the journalists and news staff covering the 
     war in Ukraine are United States citizens or working for 
     United States news agencies;
       Whereas shelling by Russian Federation forces has included 
     the shelling of humanitarian corridors, maternity hospitals, 
     schools, and other primarily civilian locations;
       Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground along 
     Russian-targeted humanitarian corridors and in major cities 
     across Ukraine;
       Whereas dozens of members of the free press have been 
     murdered or injured by Russian Federation forces as of March 
     29, 2022, with more casualties and injuries likely;
       Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Stefan 
     Weichert was shot and wounded while reporting near Okhtyrka, 
     Ukraine;
       Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Emil 
     Filtenborg was shot and wounded while reporting near 
     Okhtyrka, Ukraine;
       Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News chief 
     correspondent Stuart Ramsay was shot and wounded when his car 
     was ambushed by Russian soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine;
       Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News camera 
     operator Richie Mockler was shot and wounded when his car was 
     ambushed by Russian soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine;
       Whereas, on March 1, 2022, Ukrainian-based journalist and 
     camera operator Yevhenii Sakun was killed when Russian 
     Federation forces shelled a television tower in Kyiv, 
     Ukraine;
       Whereas, on March 6, 2022, Swiss journalist Guillaume 
     Briquet was wounded and robbed by Russia soldiers who shot at 
     his car on the road to Mykolaiv, Ukraine;
       Whereas, on March 13, 2022, United States documentarian and 
     film director Brent Renaud was shot in Irpin, Ukraine, and 
     later died of his wounds;
       Whereas, on March 13, 2022, United States journalist Juan 
     Arredondo was shot and wounded while reporting in Irpin, 
     Ukraine;
       Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Ukrainian Fox News journalist 
     Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshinova was killed in Horenka, Ukraine, 
     when her vehicle was struck by incoming arms fire;
       Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Irish Fox News cameraman and 
     photographer Pierre Zakrzewski was killed in Horenka, 
     Ukraine, when his vehicle was struck by incoming arms fire;
       Whereas, on March 15, 2022, United States Fox News 
     correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded when his vehicle was 
     struck by incoming arms fire in Horenka, Ukraine;
       Whereas it is possible that additional Ukrainian and 
     foreign press have been or will be injured and killed so long 
     as Russian Federation forces continue their brutal attack on 
     civilians;
       Whereas all civilians, including journalists and news 
     staff, should be spared violence by military forces;
       Whereas Putin and his cronies have demonstrated complete 
     disregard for innocent life, the sovereignty of Ukraine, the 
     right to free speech, and the rights and value of a free 
     press;
       Whereas Putin is engaged in a propaganda war, as well as a 
     military war, and the Russian Federation continues to push a 
     false narrative about Russian military presence in Ukraine;
       Whereas the United States supports a free and fair press 
     and rejects any and all propagandist efforts by the Russian 
     Federation to cover up and hide the truth behind the Russian 
     Federation's invasion;
       Whereas journalists and news staff on the ground in Ukraine 
     who are reporting the truth to the world, including 
     journalists and news staff from the United States, are 
     instrumental in combating false propaganda pushed by Putin 
     and his cronies; and
       Whereas, despite the overwhelming threat and risk to their 
     lives and the sacrifices already made, journalists and news 
     staff continue to report bravely from Ukraine: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) declares its gratitude on behalf of the people of the 
     United States to the journalists and news staff who continue 
     to put themselves in harm's way to report on the humanitarian 
     crisis and ongoing war on the ground in Ukraine following the 
     Russian Federation's invasion;
       (2) remembers the journalists and news staff who have lost 
     their lives or have been severely injured reporting from 
     Ukraine and conveys the sympathies and appreciation of the 
     people of the United States to their families for their 
     sacrifice;
       (3) condemns President of the Russian Federation Vladimir 
     Putin, President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksander 
     Lukashenko, and their officials for authorizing and executing 
     attacks on innocent Ukrainian civilians, residential areas, 
     and humanitarian corridors, resulting in the loss of life of 
     civilians, including journalists and news staff; and
       (4) honors the contributions of journalists and news staff 
     reporting from the war in Ukraine as essential in the ongoing 
     struggle for the rights of a free press and free speech 
     internationally, pivotal in pushing back against false 
     propaganda by tyrants, and crucial to informing the people of 
     the United States and the world of the horrors being wrought 
     against the Ukrainian people.

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