[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 73 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2266-S2268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor today once 
again to talk about what is happening in Ukraine. This is the 10th time 
in the 10 weeks of session since before the invasion started that I 
have come to the floor to talk about the atrocities being committed in 
Ukraine by this brutal and unprovoked invasion from Russia and to talk 
about more effective ways for us to help the Ukrainian people.
  I just spoke to the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana 
Markarova. She started by thanking me on behalf of the Ukrainian 
people--really, thanking the American people--and saying that they 
appreciate all of the help, not just the funding and the weapons but 
the moral support that the people of Ukraine feel from the people of 
the United States of America. That made me proud.
  She also talked about the desperate need right now to provide 
Ukrainian soldiers with the heavy weapons they need to confront the new 
fight in Ukraine--the need to confront Russia as Vladimir Putin 
continues his brutal campaign to kill Ukrainian citizens, to flatten 
Ukrainian cities.
  Just today, Lviv, which is way over here in western Ukraine, was 
attacked again. So Russia says they are going to focus over here. Once 
again, they are lobbing missiles into Lviv. Once again, they have 
attacked Odesa in the south, hoping, I suppose, to flatten Odesa as 
well as they have done with Mariupol and kill there somewhere between 
20 and 25,000 innocent civilians, according to the latest reports we 
have.
  Ukraine has been an independent and sovereign country since 1991. 
They are not part of Russia. In 2014, the people of Ukraine made a very 
conscious choice to turn to the West, to get out from under the Russian 
thumb altogether. They wanted freedom and democracy, to move away from 
tyranny and corruption. They wanted to be like us here in America. That 
is one reason so much of the free world has rallied around Ukraine--
because this is about a country that is seeking freedom, free 
enterprise, the ability to gather freely, free speech.
  I was an election observer here in 2014 right after they made this 
decision, and we saw a fair election, where a President was elected by 
the people with huge voter turnout. Again, that is one reason we feel 
this connection to Ukraine, as does the rest of the free world.
  Ukraine's armed forces continue to perform well, but as this map 
shows, the fight is fierce right now. The dark red here is Ukrainian 
territory that was taken by Russia back in 2014. This includes Crimea. 
It includes Donetsk, Luhansk. The lighter red is the Ukrainian 
territory that Russia has seized during this latest invasion during 
this war. And the light-blue area is where Ukrainian troops have 
effectively countered the Russian offensives and pushed Russian forces 
out of territory.
  Ukraine won a decisive battle here, as an example, in Kyiv. You can 
see where they pushed the Russian forces out.
  The Kremlin, at that time, had as a strategic objective, seizing 
Kyiv, which is the capital of Ukraine, and also other major cities all 
around the country. They wanted to force the government--the 
democratically elected government--out to overthrow the government of 
President Zelenskyy.
  Instead, because of effective Ukrainian resistance, Russia has been 
forced to settle for these more limited objectives, even as they 
continue to bomb cities all around Ukraine.
  They now want to consolidate the Donbas region and create a land 
bridge from Crimea up to Transnistria. They want to cut off one of the 
world's greatest exporters--Ukraine--from any access to the city, to 
make them landlocked so they cannot have an effective economy.
  Our goal must be to stop Russia from achieving its invasion goals and 
push them out of the territory of this free and independent country, 
Ukraine, our ally. This is a very dangerous point in this battle.
  While the Russians have made incremental gains in the east, they have 
not achieved the decisive breakthrough that they want, thanks to the 
toughness and tenacity of the Ukrainian forces. But it is a tough 
fight, and the Ukrainians are outgunned. We must do all we can to keep 
Russia from a breakthrough until heavier weapons pledged by the United 
States and other allied nations can reinforce Ukrainian positions--our 
howitzers, as an example. Artillery is starting to arrive but only 
starting.
  My hope is that by reinforcing Ukrainian positions with these heavier 
weapons, that will allow Ukraine not just to defend itself but to be 
able to roll back this Russian invasion and reclaim this territory.
  Late last week, I was pleased that the Biden administration formerly 
requested emergency supplemental funding that will provide needed 
military, humanitarian, and economic aid for Ukraine. This proposal, by 
the way, includes $6 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance 
Initiative--a bipartisan initiative I have long spearheaded. Funding 
for this initiative is used to train, equip, and provide support for 
the Ukrainian Government and military. It was crucial to helping 
Ukraine prepare for the current fight, and it is crucial now.

  As the President has requested, there is also drawdown authority in 
this legislation. Now, that is what the President is currently using to 
provide the howitzers I talked about and other military assistance. 
There is $5 billion of additional Presidential drawdown authority in 
this request.
  The existing Presidential drawdown authority has been expended. I 
just checked with the Ambassador again just before making this speech. 
She indicates that out of the $3.3 billion that was in the previous 
Presidential drawdown authority to provide weapons to Ukraine, there is 
roughly $150 million left. In other words, they need this supplemental 
spending package now. It cannot wait, not at this crucial time in the 
battle.
  I am encouraged by the administration's request for military 
assistance because I think--assuming we approve it and get this done 
quickly--it will send a very important message to the world and, most 
importantly, to Vladimir Putin, that America is in this fight for the 
long haul.
  The humanitarian aid is also desperately needed to complement the 
remarkable work that is being done in Ukraine by so many great 
religious and nonprofit groups. Some of you know Samaritan's Purse, as 
an example.
  Last night, Jose Andres, who is the founder of what is called the 
World Central Kitchen, told me that they have now provided 18 million 
meals to Ukrainian refugees both in-country and out of country, and 
they have 12,000 volunteers that have been engaged to do this. They are 
not asking for money from American taxpayers, but they are providing 
incredible help, so many of these great groups.
  I am also encouraged that the administration heeded our bipartisan 
calls and appointed a Ukraine military assistance coordinator, LTG 
Terry Wolff. This followed a letter that I sent with Senators Shaheen, 
Wicker, and Durbin, with the goal of cutting through the redtape to 
ensure the right weapons get to Ukraine and they get there quickly.
  When I asked Secretary Blinken last week who Lieutenant General Wolff 
would be reporting to as the coordinator of the military assistance in 
order to make this whole process work more smoothly and help the 
Ukrainians more, he was uncertain.
  I will state today that I hope that the coordinator, Lieutenant 
General Wolff, will be reporting directly to the Commander in Chief. 
Why? Because there are so many Agencies and Departments involved, and 
the whole idea is to have one person who has the President's ear who is 
able to get stuff done quickly, without the bureaucracy. And I know 
President Biden believes that we ought to get this military equipment 
and other assistance to Ukraine immediately.
  In the context of this significant additional funding request for 
Ukraine to be able to defend itself, it is important to note that they 
are not just relying on us. We are not the only country providing 
military assistance to Ukraine.

[[Page S2267]]

  In the past few weeks, we have seen allies and nations in Europe and 
around the world come together and increase their military aid, and I 
commend them for that.
  Last Thursday, after weeks of debate, I was very pleased to see that 
the German Bundestag, which is their Parliament, voted overwhelmingly 
in favor--586 to 100--of sending heavy weapons to Ukraine. This is a 
breakthrough for Germany. They have now woken up to the serious threat 
that Russia poses to European security, and the Germans are now 
assuming more responsibility for defense of their own backyard. Good 
for them. We need them.
  Additionally, the Polish Government has now transferred even more 
Soviet-era T-72 tanks to Ukraine--again, heavy equipment they need in 
the Donbas.
  Slovakia has sent S-300 air defense systems. Our great allies in the 
United Kingdom have been tremendous supporters of Ukraine since before 
the invasion, including sending anti-tank and anti-air weapons that 
have been used to devastating effect on the battlefield. They have sent 
humanitarian aid and have recently sent Saxon armored vehicles.
  The Netherlands have also been very helpful by sending Stinger anti-
air missiles that help Ukraine contest the sky against Russian superior 
air power.
  Turkey has provided armed drones that have proven deadly effective at 
neutralizing Russian tanks, vehicles, and surface ships. I commend 
Turkey for that.
  Even on the other side of the globe, democracies are stepping up and 
providing military aid to Ukraine, including Bushmaster armored 
vehicles from Australia, bulletproof vests from Japan, and other 
military equipment from South Korea.
  The list of those countries that are providing lethal assistance or 
humanitarian aid is now over 40 and grows every day as freedom-loving 
nations everywhere see what is happening here. They see President 
Putin's actions for what they are--an assault on freedom and democracy, 
a brutal assault.
  Again, the next few weeks could be a tipping point. But Ukraine is 
finally starting to get the necessary weaponry from the free world to 
have a chance to actually succeed in pushing Russia out of their 
territory.

  The new Ukraine funding bill is being scrubbed right now for issues 
or problems, which is appropriate. We want to be sure, as an example, 
that the direct economic support has the anti-corruption guardrails we 
have had in it in the past. The Department of Agriculture funding has 
to be scrubbed to ensure it actually helps Ukraine. But the scrubbing 
has been going on for almost a week now. It is time for us to move this 
legislation.
  I encourage the Senate Democratic leadership to bring to the floor 
this Ukraine funding bill this week, not combined with other measures 
but as a stand-alone piece of legislation not tied to COVID funding or 
other unrelated priorities, including title 42 and the border, which I 
feel strongly about, or other issues, including issues to do with 
Afghanistan and the parolees.
  Let's keep other issues off of this legislation. Why? Because 
otherwise it becomes a political football and will be impossible to 
pass quickly.
  We have time to deal with those other issues as well, and we should. 
But our allies in Ukraine are desperate for assistance, and they need 
it now at this crucial time in this battle. Adding other politically 
charged issues to this request will slow it down and delay the lethal 
aid, and in the end will cost the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and 
civilians at the hands of the ruthless Russian attacks.
  On the sanctions front, I am pleased that this past week, the 
administration is finally saying they will move forward in seizing, not 
just freezing, Russian assets in the United States.
  Last Thursday, the administration announced a streamline process for 
seizing assets and finding a legal way to repurpose those assets to 
help the Ukrainian people. Good for them. I have called for this in 
legislation I introduced 5 weeks ago with Senator Bennet of Colorado. 
Our RELIEF Act would ensure seized Russian funds go to support the 
humanitarian needs in Ukraine, which is just and appropriate. And, by 
the way, other countries have already done this.
  The Russians continue to commit war crimes and atrocities against the 
innocent people of Ukraine. Late last week, Ukrainian authorities filed 
criminal charges against 10 individual Russian soldiers accused of 
taking civilians hostage and torturing them in the Kyiv suburb of 
Bucha. Many of you have seen the videos. This is the first such move by 
prosecutors investigating possible war crimes by Russians.
  All 10 were noncommissioned officers and privates from Russia's 64th 
Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, one of the units that took part in 
the monthlong occupation of Bucha.
  I call on the International Criminal Court that has announced an 
investigation to follow in Ukraine's footsteps and immediately begin an 
actual war crimes tribunal. The evidence of war crimes is clear, and 
there should be no delay. By holding Russians accountable now, the hope 
is there will be some deterrent effect to avoid additional war crimes 
being created.
  Last week, Secretary Blinken, in his testimony before the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee on the new budget request, talked about the 
request for additional funding of $5 million for what is called the 
Global Engagement Center. This is an organization that Senator Murphy 
of Connecticut and I cofounded with legislation to combat 
disinformation abroad. Unfortunately, this very modest increase will 
not adequately address the massive disinformation efforts by the 
Kremlin, let alone the world.
  In this hybrid war in Ukraine, it is not just about kinetic military 
action; it is also about a massive disinformation campaign. They are 
bombarding Ukraine with disinformation that must be confronted.

  The Global Engagement Center is established to do just that. 
Unfortunately, it has been 2 years since there was a coordinator 
appointed by a President to lead this Global Engagement Center. This 
gap in leadership is unacceptable, and I urge the President to 
immediately appoint a person to this role.
  The efforts we talked about tonight so far--the heavy weapons, the 
security assistance, the prosecution of war crimes, and the seizing 
rather than freezing of Russian assets--are all steps in the right 
direction. However, further steps have to be taken if we are going to 
stop the Kremlin from being able to finance this war effort.
  The biggest problem, by far, is energy. Energy is Russia's No. 1 
export. Forty to 50 percent of the Russian budget is funded by energy 
receipts coming back into the country. President Putin, of course, has 
long used natural gas as an energy weapon against Europe. Last week, he 
directed the gas company Gazprom to stop providing natural gas to 
Poland and to Bulgaria. The natural gas supply from Russia was 
suspended because of Poland and Bulgaria's refusal to pay in rubles, 
Russia's currency, which would help bolster Russia's economy and make 
it easier for them to finance this war. Bulgaria and Poland should be 
commended for not bowing to Vladimir Putin's wishes.
  This is also a significant opportunity for the United States to step 
up further and to help our European allies to wean themselves off of 
Russian energy. The United States of America has the tools and the 
resources to help our allies accomplish this. We have a tentative 
agreement to do so. The United States has already halted the import of 
Russian energy. I now commend Lithuania and Estonia for recently doing 
the exact same thing. Poland has indicated they would like to do the 
same.
  In order to encourage Europe to end its dependency on Russian oil and 
gas, America must act now to help ensure there is a more abundant 
supply of energy resources on the global market for purchase by Europe 
and other countries. Specifically, we need to expand U.S. production of 
natural gas that will help stabilize the market, provide liquefied 
natural gas to Europe, and reduce energy costs for consumers. Most 
importantly, it will stop the flow of funding to Russia's war machine 
that is killing innocent Ukrainians every single day.
  Together, working with Europe, we can end the approximately $870 
million a day--$870 million a day--that Europe is sending to Russia to 
help fund the

[[Page S2268]]

war machine. We must do so immediately by expanding natural gas 
production here and our infrastructure here to provide Europe with the 
promised liquefied natural gas as an alternative to Russian gas.
  But, more generally, we have to support all our domestic producers 
here in the United States through a robust, all-of-the-above energy 
policy that includes fossil fuels, renewables, carbon-capture 
technologies, nuclear power, hydropower, hydrogen, and energy 
efficiency.
  Instead of recognizing that Putin is using energy as a weapon and 
responding appropriately, unfortunately, the Biden administration has 
acted to make it more difficult for domestic energy production. These 
actions include an increase of taxes on energy production proposed in 
the President's budget, restricting new leases on Federal lands and 
waters for oil and gas production, rewriting the definitions of the 
``Waters of the United States''--or WOTUS, as it is called--which could 
add significant time and complexity to permitting new energy projects.
  As I raised directly with Secretary Blinken last week during his time 
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, these domestic policies 
that the administration is pursuing are having a direct and negative 
impact on our national security and the security of our allies abroad. 
We need to produce more right now to be able to ensure our national 
security and their national security is protected.
  The ruble, the Russian currency, has just about fully recovered from 
its preinvasion value, in part because Russia is still bringing in 
revenues from the sale of energy. Our sanctions have left Russia's 
biggest economic lifeline largely untouched: again, energy sales, 
specifically to Europe.
  In addition to cutting off natural gas and the revenue that fuels the 
Russian war machine, we need to tighten up bank sanctions as they 
relate to energy. Sanctions for energy transactions don't go into 
effect against Russian banks, including the VTB Bank, until June 24. 
These sanctions should have gone in place weeks ago, and they should 
certainly go into place now.
  President Biden must lead our allies to do whatever it takes to help 
Ukraine win, and the administration should make clear that their 
objective is for Ukraine to push the forces of Russia out of the 
sovereign territory of Ukraine. Remember, Ukrainians are not asking for 
us to fight for them, but they are asking us to help them fight for 
themselves. We have got to do that so they have a chance to win.

  Last month, I was at the border of Ukraine and Poland, and I was able 
to talk to a number of Ukrainian refugees. Through their tears, they 
spoke of their homes being destroyed, their loved ones killed, and the 
pain of being separated from their husbands and fathers who had stayed 
behind to fight. Almost every refugee was either a woman or a child, 
grandparents with their grandchildren.
  I also saw the heroic efforts and the amazing generosity of spirit 
from the Polish people who were taking these Ukrainian refugees 
literally into their homes--to feed them, to give them a roof over 
their head.
  Yesterday, I joined my colleagues Chris Coons and Roy Blunt 
introducing a resolution to commend and recognize Poland's efforts in 
welcoming Ukrainian refugees and supporting the Ukrainian resistance. 
Poland has been amazing. Since Russia's invasion began, more than 3 
million Ukrainians have fled across the border into Poland. We are so 
grateful to them for opening their hearts and their homes and for 
continuing to donate their time and resources to help the refugees.
  I want to close my remarks today with talking about why the United 
States has a special obligation to support Ukraine in light of Russia's 
brutal and illegal invasion. It is important that we not forget the 
Budapest Memorandum signed by Russia, the United States, the United 
Kingdom, and Ukraine in 1994. After the fall of the Soviet Union, under 
this 1994 memorandum, a newly independent Ukraine agreed to give up its 
nuclear weapons, but they did so in return for an ironclad commitment 
from all those signatories--the United States, the UK, and Russia--to 
respect and ensure Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence.
  This is what makes Russia's invasion and veiled threats of nuclear 
weapons particularly outrageous. Russia made a commitment to respect 
Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence in exchange for 
Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. Now Russia invaded Ukraine and 
is threatening to use nuclear weapons against Ukrainians.
  This war is in gross violation of the Budapest Memorandum and, of 
course, Russia's other international commitments, such as the United 
Nations Charter. For these transgressions, it is now time for the 
international community to strip Russia of its privilege of sitting on 
the U.N. Security Council and other bodies of international 
representation, and Russia should be deemed a state sponsor of terror.
  There is reporting that Russia believed the invasion would split and 
weaken the NATO alliance. Instead, as we have seen, Russia's brutal 
attacks on a neighboring democracy have actually galvanized and 
strengthened the resolve of NATO and the free world in general and will 
likely lead to expansion with Finland and Sweden soon joining the NATO 
alliance.
  What the United States is doing to help Ukraine with military, 
humanitarian, and economic assistance and rallying our allies to do the 
same is critically important, particularly at this time, for the battle 
is at a critical stage. It is critically important--it is important not 
just because it fulfills our commitment under the 1994 Budapest 
Memorandum but because it is in our national interest as the leader of 
the free world to stand with our allies.
  There was a speech once written that was never given. It was meant to 
be delivered by President John F. Kennedy on the afternoon of November 
22, 1963, the day that he was killed. The speech was profound and very 
simple. It said: We, in this country, in this generation, by destiny 
rather than choice, are the watchmen on the walls of world freedom--by 
destiny rather than choice.
  When democracies are under attack by authoritarian regimes, history 
says when America leads, others will join, and we are victorious in 
protecting freedom.
  In this instance, in this critical point in Ukraine, we must continue 
to lead the free world in standing with Ukraine until their final 
victory.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.