[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 100 (Monday, June 13, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2915-S2918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                UKRAINE

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, for the 15th straight week, while the 
U.S. Senate has been in session, I come to the floor to talk about what 
is going on in Ukraine. This is the war that Russia continues to wage 
against the people of Ukraine. I am going to talk about what has 
happened in the last week--some of it is very concerning--but also 
about what we can do right now to help more, to help our ally Ukraine, 
to help President Zelenskyy and his duly elected government, and to 
help the people of Ukraine.
  Last week, I talked about a grim milestone, 100 days of this war. It 
is becoming a war of attrition. The Russians expected a quick victory, 
you remember. That didn't happen. Now they are grinding it out in one 
area called the Donbas region. And unfortunately, they are making some 
incremental progress there. In a minute, I will have a map here to show 
you where the

[[Page S2916]]

Donbas region is. But that is where the focus is right now. That is 
where the Russians are grinding it out.
  The fate of Ukraine, its future, may be decided here in the next few 
months or maybe even weeks, given what is happening in the Donbas. The 
Russians have regrouped, and they are using their superior weapons, 
particularly long-range artillery. The Ukrainians, although they are 
fighting valiantly, just don't have that longer range artillery to be 
able to counteract what Russia is doing. So the Russians are sitting 
back with this long-range, more accurate artillery. They are hitting 
Ukrainian positions, taking out Ukrainian cities, flattening them. And 
then the Ukrainians can't reach them because they don't have artillery 
that is long range.
  There has been some Ukrainian progress in the past week. If you look 
at this map, you can see that in the northeast, around Kharkiv--up 
here, you see this light blue--Ukrainians have made some progress. In 
fact, in one case, they actually pushed the Russians back to the 
Russian border.
  They also made some progress here in the south. And you see the city 
of Kherson, that was one of the first big cities that the Russians took 
during this most recent attack. The Ukrainians are now moving toward 
that area. That is positive news.
  But, frankly, one reason they are making the progress is the Russians 
are all focused right here. This is the Donbas region we talked about 
earlier, and this is where the Russians are making incremental progress 
and killing, frankly, a lot of Ukrainian civilians but also Ukrainian 
soldiers.
  Russia is grinding it out, as I said earlier, meaning that they are 
using their superior artillery fire. They have more troops. They have 
more weapons. But the Ukrainian defenders are fighting hard. They are 
making the Russians pay for every single inch of territory that is 
being taken. This is particularly true in Severodonetsk, which is right 
in here.
  In Severodonetsk, there is an ongoing battle tonight as we talk. The 
Russians are engaged in urban combat there, and the Ukrainians have 
fiercely defended their homeland. But I will say, the Russians are 
still advancing bit by bit, in some cases kilometer by kilometer, every 
day, because they have the firepower, especially the longer-range, 
accurate, and deadly artillery.
  Reports yesterday indicate that unless Ukrainians can get access to 
that long-range artillery themselves, Severodonetsk and the entire 
Luhansk region could fall to Russia soon. Possibly within weeks. This 
should alarm all of us. It should alarm the administration; it should 
alarm the Congress. Because every time Russia gains more territory, 
they reduce it to mostly rubble, destroy it, and then they dig in, 
making it twice as hard to get that territory back.
  Because the Russians have more artillery than the Ukrainians and 
their weapons have longer ranges, the Russian forces concentrate their 
massive firepower on Ukrainian positions from a distance, as I said, 
which the Ukrainian forces cannot reach. And then they move in.
  They destroy the territory. They occupy it. This disparity in the 
quality and quantity of artillery has put Ukraine at a distinct 
disadvantage. The good news is that we can fix this problem. We can 
level this playing field and address this disparity. America and her 
allies have the ability to do it, and it is urgent that we do it now.
  In our inventory, we have hundreds of what are called High Mobility 
Artillery Rocket Systems or HIMARS. It is an advanced system that is 
actually superior to the Russian artillery in almost every way, more 
mobility, faster reload time, more accuracy, and--more importantly--
more range.
  Getting these systems, these HIMARS systems to Ukraine could be a 
game changer. It could save so many lives. With these systems in the 
arsenal, the Ukrainians could turn the tables on the Russians here in 
the Donbas region.
  They could grind the Russian advance to a halt and maybe even push 
the Russian forces back, as they are doing in Kharkiv up here or down 
here in the south.
  Unfortunately, the Biden administration has been unwilling to act 
quickly on these HIMARS. Two weeks ago, after weeks of Ukrainian 
requests, echoed by some of us here in the U.S. Congress, President 
Biden announced that he would provide Ukraine with some of these 
systems. I was really pleased we were finally taking that step.
  However, according to the Department of Defense, I now learned that 
the administration is only sending four of these systems--four. The 
administration has said that it is only providing Ukraine with mid-
range missiles as well, meaning Ukrainian troops will need to fire from 
closer to Russian positions and put themselves at greater risk.
  That announcement of our decision to send four systems will be 2 
weeks old on Wednesday. We were told these systems require almost 3 
weeks in training to be able to operate. That means, at best, Ukraine 
will have four U.S. artillery systems operational sometime late this 
week or maybe next week.
  Ukraine has been fighting for its life for weeks along a massive 
front line, this front line all along here. And the Biden 
administration is only now sending this military support; and, frankly, 
it is just not enough. Combine this with the public reporting that the 
M777 howitzer promised to Ukraine months ago back in mid-April are 
arriving very slowly, and you have a picture that shows that we are not 
responding with urgency to the situation in Ukraine.
  You don't have to take it from me. Listen to the military advisor and 
President Zelenskyy's chief of staff Oleksiy Arestovych: ``If we get 60 
of these [rocket artillery] systems,'' that is the HIMARS I am talking 
about, ``then the Russians will lose all ability to advance anywhere, 
they will be stopped [dead] in their tracks. If we get 40, they will 
advance, albeit very slowly with heavy casualties; with 20, they will 
continue to advance with higher casualties than now.''
  So he is talking about the need for 60 or at least 40; 20 won't be 
enough. Unfortunately, we are talking about four. To their credit, the 
British announced last Tuesday that they will send something similar to 
these multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine. It is a larger 
version, actually, of the HIMARS rocket artillery system that they are 
sending. I appreciate that. However, the BBC reports that they are now 
only sending three, at least initially.
  The world looks to America for leadership, and if America leads with 
only four rocket artillery systems, the rest of the world is going to 
follow with similarly modest support. I hope this will change. I hope 
we will see that these numbers improve. I would like to be proven wrong 
that those artillery systems are already on their way. I hope they are, 
but the best information we have is that is not true.

  It has been months now, and the Ukrainians cannot afford to have 
imprecise and low-level assistance from the world's most powerful 
military. This Congress sent $40 billion in aid to the Ukrainians, $21 
billion of that was military assistance. I think we should expect and 
demand that the administration utilize that funding as much as possible 
and provide Ukraine with the precise and powerful military equipment it 
actually needs to be able to fight this war, to stop the bloodshed, by 
pushing the Russians back, $21 billion is a lot of money, let's be sure 
it is spent properly.
  Another Ukrainian official, Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine's Deputy head of 
Military Intelligence, told a British outlet: ``Everything now depends 
on what [the West] gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 
15 Russian artillery pieces.''
  Ukrainians need our help. And Congress has done its job in an 
overwhelming, bipartisan fashion. We should not be tentative now--not 
now. Russia's brutal unrelenting rocket and missile attacks throughout 
Ukraine, including attacks on schools and churches, hospitals and 
apartment buildings, have killed tens of thousands of Ukrainian 
civilians and soldiers, while entire cities have been laid to rubble by 
the Russian barrages. While the media coverage has waned significantly 
here in the United States, the people of Ukraine are still feeling the 
effect and the terrible impacts of this bloody and illegal invasion of 
their homeland in so many ways. One is the blockade of Ukraine's Black 
Sea ports.

[[Page S2917]]

  Since the war began, Russia has put this blockade in place preventing 
the export of millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products 
desperately needed, by the way, in Africa, in the Middle East, and 
other developing countries.
  Just this past Saturday, Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky 
reported that 300,000 tons of grain were destroyed when Russia shelled 
a warehouse near one of these ports.
  So Russia is actually shelling grain bins to destroy the grain. Let 
me be clear: Food should never be a target and should never be used as 
leverage in negotiations. Malign actors around the world have used food 
as a weapon--the Houthis in Yemen, Assad in Syria, and now Russia in 
Ukraine.
  Russia has the rest of the world hostage with its barbaric food 
blockade. President Putin recently suggested that he would lift his 
stranglehold on Ukraine's Black Sea ports, including Odesa, but he said 
he would only do so if all the sanctions were lifted on Russia. In 
other words, Russia would like to be rewarded for releasing the hostage 
it has taken.
  Russia must release its blockade immediately, without any conditions. 
Millions of lives depend on it. I would expect the administration and 
allies--including Turkey--to come up with contingency plans now, if 
they don't have them already. This impacts nations in Africa, the 
Middle East, East Asia, and particularly, again, these poor countries 
in Africa depend on the Ukrainian grains, otherwise there will be 
massive food shortages.
  In Turkey, President Erdogan continues to negotiate an exit corridor 
for Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. I thank him for doing that. 
He should continue to do so. And even in China--no friend of the United 
States and a very good friend of Russia right now--President Xi Jinping 
has warned of a bad winter wheat harvest. I hope he can persuade 
Vladimir Putin that needlessly causing a global hunger catastrophe will 
not do him any favors.
  The dire warnings of global food insecurity and price hikes if this 
blockade continues should concern everyone in this Congress, everyone 
in America, and everyone in this administration, certainly.
  The world is looking to our leadership to help solve this problem. 
What we need is a creation of a humanitarian corridor that can go out, 
at least through the port at Odesa through which Ukrainian agricultural 
products can reach the world market.
  Until then, other avenues have to be explored. When I was in Romania 
2 weeks ago, the prime minister there told me that they intend to boost 
their road and rail and canal infrastructure to the port in Romania to 
help export as much Ukrainian grain as possible. This would help, and I 
appreciate--really appreciate--the Romanian effort, but it can't match 
the capacity of Odesa or these other ports in Ukraine.
  At a security conference in Singapore on Sunday, Ukraine's deputy 
foreign minister announced that Ukraine will, indeed, try to export its 
grains through Romania as well as through Poland, as well as any place 
they can get it out.
  They are looking for a third route as an example through the Baltic 
States, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. That is a desperate attempt by 
Ukraine to try to get this grain out, but, again, it can never match 
the huge volumes that can go by ship from its own ports.
  As the head of the Ukraine Grain Association said last week:

       I can tell you we won't find a solution [for] exports 
     [without Black Sea port access].

  Unfortunately, I think he is right. It is clear that Russia is trying 
to starve the world into pressuring Ukraine to surrender. Meanwhile, 
Russia's crimes within Ukraine continue. A few days ago, Ukrainian 
prosecutors announced that eight more war crimes have been filed 
against Russian soldiers. These cases are part of a more than 16,000 
investigation that Ukraine has opened into possible war crimes 
committed during the war, according to Ukraine's prosecutor general--
16,000 investigations right now into war crimes.
  In the past war crimes trials, two captured Russian soldiers were 
each sentenced to 11\1/2\ years in prison in late May after pleading 
guilty to shelling a town in Eastern Ukraine. And a Russian soldier was 
handed a life sentence for shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian civilian in 
the head.
  These heinous acts of violence are going to continue unless Ukraine 
has the ability to push back. We do need more of these sentences of war 
criminals to try to act as a deterrent to stop the further Russian 
barbarity in Ukraine. Maybe some officers, maybe some officials in the 
Kremlin looking at these war crime convictions will say, you know what, 
maybe we shouldn't be attacking our peaceful neighbors and killing them 
and raping them and terrorizing this country.
  There is another important issue I want to mention, one that is worth 
the world's attention: Ukrainian orphans. Unfortunately, there are 
hundreds of Ukrainian orphans who are stuck in Ukraine or elsewhere in 
Europe. A lot of these orphans have ties to America and unique ties to 
about 200 American families who are ready, willing, and able to host 
these children. These families have been in the process of adopting 
these children for a long time, from before the invasion. Many of these 
children have actually previously visited the United States to meet 
with their soon-to-be adopted families.
  Unfortunately, many of these children returned right before the 
invasion and are unaccounted for now. Many have lost contact with their 
soon-to-be families. I have constituents in Ohio, and I know hundreds 
of other families across the country ready to welcome these children 
into their homes.
  In March, along with 26 colleagues, I wrote to the State Department, 
I have yet to hear back from that letter, but we asked for two things: 
one, to help identify these children, this needs to be done in 
collaboration with the Ukrainian government, of course, and U.S.-based 
organizations; and, two, my letter urged the administration to issue 
travel visas to allow adoption-eligible kids to come live with their 
American host families now.
  The State Department should use its powers under the law to 
immediately process nonimmigrant visas that will allow these kids with 
in-process adoptions to travel to the U.S. and stay with their host 
families in the United States instead of requiring these children to 
remain in other locations for displaced persons in Europe or in 
Ukraine.
  Many of these children may be given refuge in neighboring countries. 
However, I believe in the unique circumstances where children already 
have established relationships with these families in the United 
States, they should be able to come here and be with their host 
families who can ensure the child's safety and stability.
  At the same time, we could continue to work with the Ukrainian 
government, which has been open to finalizing the adoptions that were 
in process before the war began.
  I will close with this: I have now come to the floor every week since 
just before President Putin began this illegal and unprovoked invasion 
against the people of a democratic Ukraine who just wanted to live in 
peace with their neighbors--including Russia.
  This is the fight during our generation where democracy is on the 
line. I am not surprised, because I have seen the spirit and bravery of 
the Ukrainian people firsthand in my many trips to Ukraine, including 
meeting with Ukrainian troops on the front line before this latest 
invasion. I am not surprised that they have held off Russia so far. 
Their strength and resiliency is a marvel.
  Again, it is not what Vladimir Putin expected. It is, frankly, not 
what our own U.S. military expected. They have fought hard, and they 
continue to every day. But they need more help.
  Last week, I met with a great fighter in this cause, my friend Andy 
Futey from Ohio, who leads the Ukrainian World Congress for the Ukraine 
diaspora all over the world. He has been a strong and consistent 
advocate for Ukraine and joined me at a rally, actually, at the White 
House with hundreds of Ukrainian Americans a couple months ago.
  When I met with Andy last week and other members of the Ukrainian 
World Congress who had just returned from Ukraine, they spoke with 
passion about the destruction they had seen in Ukraine, about the steep 
price that the Ukrainian people have paid and continue to pay to be 
able to remain free and independent.
  With them was a young woman from Ukraine who was very emotional in 
her

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appeals, with tears, saying, America needs to do more during this hour 
of need. As they made the case passionately that the U.S. needs to 
continue sending weapons and artillery and sooner not later, they 
talked about the need for these long-range weapons we talked about 
tonight, so the Ukrainians have a fighting chance.
  Every day the United States fails to sufficiently support Ukraine 
only serves as a detriment to the Ukrainians, who need us to lead the 
free world in helping them win this war. Brave Ukrainians are dying 
every day. We just can't afford to delay.
  My colleague Senator Dick Durbin and I cochair what is called the 
Senate Ukraine Caucus, which we founded back in 2015. Later this week, 
we will bring the caucus together to meet with the leaders in the 
Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, who are here visiting Washington to 
urge greater support in America for their country. We are eager to hear 
what they have to say.
  Many of us here in this Chamber get it. We know that America can't 
afford to stay on the sidelines and be a spectator in this conflict. At 
this crucial time in the battle for freedom, democracy, and the ability 
for countries to have their territorial integrity respected, at this 
critical hour, America cannot afford to be tentative.
  We must remember the lessons of the late 1930s: that appeasing 
tyrants will not satiate their desire to violently conquer and 
subjugate their neighbors. Some folks in this town may not understand 
that, but Ukrainians understand it. They know what it is like to live 
under the thumb of authoritarians, and they broke away from that and 
toward democracy, first in 1991 and again in 2014.
  I was in Ukraine after the Revolution of Dignity, in 2014, where 
Ukrainians decided for themselves that they wanted to turn away from 
Russian domination and turn to us and to Europe and to pursue a hopeful 
future of democracy and freedom. Now, President Putin is trying to 
extinguish that hope. We must not let him.
  One question that many of us have of the administration is: What is 
the end goal here? Is our objective to help Ukraine grind down Russia's 
military so that for some number of years it is unable to undertake 
another violent campaign like this? Is our objective to topple 
President Putin's regime? Or is our objective to help the Ukrainians 
expel the Russian invaders from their sovereign Ukrainian territory, 
including Crimea and the Donbas?
  The administration dodges these questions by saying: It is up to the 
Ukrainians to decide.
  I understand that, but the Ukrainians have already decided. They want 
their sovereign territory back--all of it. I have discussed this at 
length with Ukrainians, and they have consistently said what I have 
heard from their parliamentary leaders in the past and will again this 
week: Nothing less than the full restoration of Ukrainian sovereign 
territory is their goal.
  Saying that we support Russia walking away with any Ukrainian 
territory would just embolden Russia in this conflict and embolden 
aggressors and authoritarians in the future.
  It has now been 110 days of unrelenting Russian attacks on our ally 
Ukraine, and it has been 110 days of pushing the administration to help 
more. This happened with Russian oil, Russian gas exports. It happened 
with trade and banking sanctions and various kinds of military 
assistance. Now it is the HIMARS. They need these weapons.
  America has made its stand. We are on the side of freedom over 
tyranny, democracy and self-determination over authoritarianism and 
conquest. The countries of the free world are with us, but more so when 
we lead. Now is not the time to be tentative or equivocal. At this 
critical juncture, let's work with allies to provide our democratic 
brothers and sisters in Ukraine what they need to protect the homeland 
and defend democracy.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________