[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Mr. President, now on a related matter, last month, by an 
overwhelming bipartisan margin, the Senate approved a package of urgent 
assistance for Ukraine. Then, over the Memorial Day State work period, 
our friends on the frontlines marked their 100th day of resisting the 
latest stab of Russian aggression.
  As colleagues and I can attest from our visit with President 
Zelenskyy and his team in Kyiv, the people of Ukraine continue to 
display incredible resilience and incredible bravery. Every day, brave 
Ukrainian soldiers pay the ultimate sacrifice to defend the sovereignty 
of their democratic country. Every day, innocent Ukrainians are 
suffering under Russia's brutal and indiscriminate assault.
  Over a hundred days of war, Ukraine's resolve has remained quite 
firm. Can the same be said of the West?
  As Russia pumps more combat power to the front, Ukraine's soldiers 
need more weapons. They need more powerful weapons, and they need 
longer range weapons to counter Russia's offensive forces from safety. 
We should not delay the provision of these lifesaving capabilities.
  Our objective is not to humiliate Putin but to help Ukraine defend 
itself. That is what should guide our decisions, not Vladimir Putin's 
ego. We should not be self-deterred by fears that Putin will escalate. 
Those most affected by the risk of escalation are the Ukrainians, and 
they are certainly not deterred. They are fighting for their lives, and 
Putin is already indiscriminately leveling their cities.
  Those concerned with escalation consider what Putin will do to their 
cities if he is not stopped by Ukraine. But some of Ukraine's 
supporters here in the West have yet to learn the lesson. Some of our 
wealthiest NATO members have dragged their feet in greenlighting the 
sort of military assistance our eastern flank allies have delivered 
willingly and at a tremendous cost. Some eastern flank partners have 
also welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees into their countries. And 
there is more that wealthy European countries can do to help provide 
military, economic, and humanitarian relief in this time of crisis.
  Here at home, the Biden administration's hemming and hawing and self-
deterrence has slowly, incrementally given way to a more competent 
policy, but it has come attached to utterly incoherent public 
messaging.
  The Biden administration should clarify that it will continue to 
provide Ukraine with long-range rockets so it can defend itself--defend 
itself--from massive military barrages that are being fired from 
Ukrainian territory.
  The administration should clarify whether it will provide anti-ship 
missiles so Ukraine can target Russian threats to Ukraine's Black Sea 
ports and the critical export of Ukraine's grain harvest. Putin is 
weaponizing global food shortages, and we can and should help the 
Ukrainians do something about it. Doing so will send a signal to 
hesitant partners that they, too, should be providing Ukraine with 
these critical--critical--capabilities.
  But reluctance to get Ukraine what it needs is particularly baffling 
when you consider what a Russian victory would mean for our own 
national security interest. Letting a vibrant, Western-facing democracy 
fall into Russian control would send the price of our own security 
operations on the continent literally through the roof. It would put 
America's closest allies and trading partners one border closer to an 
autocratic bully. And half a world away, it would tell other bullies, 
like the Chinese Communist Party, that lawless conquest of their 
neighbors isn't just possible; it is actually permitted.
  If America and our allies aren't willing to do everything we can to 
help Ukraine win before it is too late, we will face costly, outsized 
consequences quite soon.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.