[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3025-S3027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Ukraine

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I come to the floor again today to update 
people on what is happening in Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal, 
unprovoked, and brutal assault on that country and talk more about what 
we can do here in the Congress and as Americans to help the people of 
Ukraine during this desperate hour. This will be the 16th consecutive 
week I have come to the floor to discuss the invasion while the Senate 
has been in session.
  We are now on the 118th day of this war on Ukraine. In response, the 
bravery and effectiveness of the Ukrainian defenders has been 
unbelievable, truly impressive, but not surprising because they are 
fighting to defend their homeland, their families, and their freedom.
  They have shown again and again the power that comes with that. Just 
4 days ago was another example of Ukrainian tenacity and success 
against a much bigger and better armed Russian army. Last Friday, 
Ukrainian military officials announced that they struck and sunk a 
Russian vessel in the Black Sea using two Harpoon anti-ship missiles 
supplied by the West. The ship was carrying personnel and anti-aircraft 
equipment to Snake Island, which the Russians invaded early on and used 
as an outpost to assist in their blockade of Ukraine.
  This action marks the first time that Ukraine has destroyed a Russian 
vessel with a new, Western-supplied armament. It is an example of what 
we can do, the United States and other allied countries, 42 of us who 
are helping Ukraine, giving them the tools they need to defend their 
homeland.
  By the way, the Ukrainians have now sunk so many Russian ships that 
the head of the Odessa Oblast military administration remarked that 
Ukraine is creating ``an underwater brigade at the bottom of the Black 
Sea.''
  Despite these successes in the Black Sea, Russia has taken the upper 
hand in the critical area east of Ukraine called the Donbas. The Donbas 
region is this area of Ukraine in eastern Ukraine where Russia has 
really focused its forces. Previously, you recall they took Crimea in 
2014, and they took a part of the Donbas--Donbas and Donetsk areas. Now 
they are trying to take the entire Donetsk region and more.
  Although the Ukrainians are fighting valiantly in this area of the 
Donbas, they are simply being outgunned by the Russians, who have 
longer range and very accurate Russian missiles. The stakes are really 
high right now. The fate of a sovereign country to remain free hangs in 
the balance. But not only that, if Vladimir Putin is successful here in 
the Donbas in taking more than he already controls, I think it would be 
naive to believe he will stop there. Based on his own words, he won't 
stop there. The Baltics could be next. He already has a puppet 
dictatorship here in Belarus. These countries--Baltics, Poland, 
Romania, where I was recently, Moldova--they are all concerned and 
rightly so. We cannot allow him to achieve these goals.
  Last Wednesday, the Senate Ukraine Caucus, which I cofounded along 
with Senator Dick Durbin, hosted six members of the Ukrainian 
Parliament, or Rada, leaders in the Parliament who came to talk to us, 
along with Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova. 
They offered a very blunt view of the current war, which we have now 
heard many times over these past several weeks.
  Ukrainian soldiers are fighting very hard to defend their homeland, 
but Russia is incrementally advancing, killing 100 to 500 Ukrainian 
soldiers every day, as well as dozens of civilians, and destroying 
cities in the Donbas area with a steady barrage of missiles. Russia is 
sitting back and firing these guided missiles with impunity because the 
shorter range Ukrainian missiles can't reach them.
  The delegation of Ukrainian Parliament leaders included David 
Arakhamia, one of Ukraine's lead negotiators with the Russians. He told 
us the Russians are essentially delaying negotiations until Russia has 
secured control over this whole area of the Donbas, and then they will 
pretend to engage in negotiations while taking that time to recover 
their combat power and prepare for yet another offensive.
  Russia must not be allowed to continue to gain ground in the Donbas. 
We have to get the Ukrainians what they need to protect themselves, the 
weapons and equipment they need to be able to succeed so they can have 
negotiations with the Russians but on their terms, not the Russians'.
  There is a solution to the Ukrainians being outgunned. Over the past 
several years, Ukrainian officials have specifically requested the 
advanced weapons rocket artillery systems. The United States operates 
one such system. It is called the HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery 
Rocket System. We have hundreds of these in our inventory, many of 
which are not with Active units. They are superior to Russian artillery 
in almost every respect--mobility, reload time, accuracy, and most 
importantly, range. Yet, during Ukraine's hour of need, it has taken us 
too long to respond, and we are providing too few units to make a 
serious impact.
  Three weeks ago, the administration did announce they would send 
HIMARS to Ukraine but just four units.
  With the time it takes to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate 
this platform, the systems will not be combat ready until at least this 
week, according to press reports. So we announced it a few weeks ago, 
but every day brave Ukrainians have been dying and Donbas cities have 
been systematically destroyed and the countryside has been conquered 
step-by-step.
  We must act more quickly, and we must do more. The Wall Street 
Journal editorial board recently expounded on this argument in very 
stark terms when they said:

       How many rocket systems do our friends need? [Well] a . . . 
     military adviser [from Ukraine] told [a reporter recently]: 
     ``If we get 60'' systems ``then the Russians will lose all 
     ability to advance anywhere, they will be stopped dead in 
     their tracks. If we get 40 they will [be able to] advance, 
     albeit very slowly with heavy casualties; with 20 they will 
     continue to advance with higher casualties than now.''

  We are providing four.
  When I met with the Rada, they told me that they would need at least 
48 advanced rocket artillery systems to have a meaningful impact. So, 
again, so far we have only provided four. My hope is, based on 
conversations I have had with the administration, that more are coming. 
But any new units announced won't reach the battlefield

[[Page S3026]]

with trained crews for roughly 3 weeks. Defense officials know that we 
need to move more quickly, and I hope we will.
  I am pleased to report that the Brits, the UK, and also the Germans 
have offered their own rocket systems similar to ours--in fact, the 
British system is bigger than ours--but only three apiece.
  To address this, today I sent a letter with my colleagues Senators 
Durbin, Blumenthal, and Grassley to Secretary of Defense Austin urging 
the administration to rapidly send significant amounts of these 
advanced rocket artillery systems to Ukraine, working with our allies.
  In our inventory, we have hundreds of these HIMARS, and getting these 
systems to Ukraine could be a game changer. We need to send them more 
quickly so they have a fighting chance in this war.
  With these systems in their arsenal, I believe the Ukrainians could 
turn the tables on the Russians, just like they have done in so many 
other places. Remember, in Kyiv, the success there. In Kharkiv, they 
are having some success pushing back the Russians there.
  Even here in the eastern part toward Kherson, they are having some 
success, but they need help here with regard to these artillery 
systems. It is an artillery battle.
  The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board went on to say:

       The stakes are high, [but not just] for Ukraine. If the 
     Russian military mops up the Donbas, Vladimir Putin will have 
     grabbed more land that he can sell at home as a victory. He 
     can then regroup and push south[east] toward Odessa--

  Down here--

     robbing the Ukrainians of their coast line and building a 
     bridge to Transnistria in Moldova.

       Up here.
       Europe will be less secure, and Mr. Biden will bear some 
     responsibility.

  The editorial continued with the threat to other nations, saying:

       Skeptics of U.S. aid to Ukraine like to say we can't 
     support the country forever. But that's all the more reason 
     to get Kyiv the right weapons sooner and in enough numbers so 
     Ukraine can stop and then roll back Russian advances. That's 
     the only way to get Mr. Putin to the negotiating table with 
     any hope of a cease-fire on Ukrainian terms favorable to 
     NATO.

  I think they are right. We just provided $40 billion for Ukraine--
very generous from the U.S. taxpayers. Roughly, $21 billion of that 
goes toward military.
  I am not suggesting we spend more than that. I am suggesting that we 
use the $21 billion in a more effective way to give them what they 
actually need to be able to push back against the Russians, given this 
current threat.
  Russia won't stop at the Donbas. They will conquer the rest of 
Ukraine's Black Sea coastline, as was said in this editorial. This, by 
the way, would landlock Ukraine, one of the great exporters of the 
world. It is an attempt to ruin the country economically.
  One thing that has become crystal clear over the past decade, Russia 
only responds to strength. When President Putin has sensed weakness, 
that is exactly when his aggression has increased. He invaded Ukraine 4 
months ago because he believed that Ukraine and the West would not 
respond forcefully. He believed he could divide NATO.
  Both of these assumptions proved to be wrong, and Russia was 
initially pushed back. But note that they just kept coming, now 
believing that freedom-loving democracies around the world will become 
war weary; that our attention span is too short.
  He believes he can outlast us. I am concerned that some are losing 
interest. Look at the news coverage. Ukraine often is no longer in the 
headlines, not in the nightly news, even though the destruction 
continues; the bombing of civilian targets continues; the war crimes 
continue.
  I am concerned that some are forgetting the global stakes involved in 
this war and how important it is to ensure that Ukraine wins and Russia 
loses. If Russia senses that the West is weak and distracted and losing 
interest in Ukraine, it will continue this war and bring it ever closer 
to our NATO allies.
  That is exactly why we need to provide Ukrainians what they need to 
fight back right now, especially these HIMAR systems. We must 
accelerate our deliveries if we are serious about supporting Ukraine.
  Fortunately, other nations continue to offer support. During last 
week's meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Belgium, 
Secretary of Defense Austin urged nations ``not to lose steam'' in 
their efforts to aid Ukraine during Russia's invasion. Good for him.

  He reported that Germany will offer three long-range artillery rocket 
systems with ammunition to follow the UK's example, and Slovakia is 
promising helicopters and ammunition. Poland, Canada, and the 
Netherlands have promised more artillery. Forty-two nations have 
stepped forward, in all, to provide military assistance to Ukraine, not 
just us.
  Several of these leaders also committed to Ukrainian officials that 
the West would not demand any territorial concessions from Ukraine to 
appease Russia and will support Ukraine to the end of this war.
  That is very welcome news. Making any territorial concessions to 
Russia would only embolden Putin and other future would-be conquerors. 
The lesson they would learn is that with enough patience, we can wear 
down the West and get what we want.
  We saw how the territorial concessions worked in the late 1930s. It 
only increased Nazi Germany's appetite. Nazi Germany was not led to 
think that if they took over one country, that they couldn't take over 
the next.
  The United States needs to join our allies and continue to reaffirm 
our unwavering commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity. While we 
continue our mission, Americans of all stripes have gone to Ukraine to 
help, some as volunteers. Some have gone actually to help fight 
alongside Ukraine forces to defend that democratic country.
  According to reports, two Americans have been taken prisoner by 
Russian-backed forces, and a third American is missing. We need to get 
our people out.
  Just yesterday, the Kremlin's chief spokesman told NBC that the two 
Americans are not protected by the Geneva Convention. He stated they 
should ``be held responsible for the crimes they have committed.''
  By the way, the only ``crime'' they have committed was fighting back 
against the Russians and helping Ukraine, an ally and a democracy, 
defend its sovereign territory.
  The Russians seem to be so accustomed to killing unarmed Ukrainian 
civilians that they are shocked when anyone on the other side actually 
dares to shoot back.
  Let me be clear: These Americans are prisoners of war subject to the 
protections of the Geneva Convention, and any unlawful prosecution 
would be an unacceptable acceleration, an escalation by Russia. I 
expect the administration to develop a plan to address these men's 
situation and get them out of Kremlin captivity. That is on the 
military side.
  On sanctions, when it comes to funding for Russia's war machine, last 
week the Treasury Department announced it will allow certain energy-
related transactions with SberBank, VTB Bank, Alfa Bank, and several 
other Russian entities to continue until December 5.
  The United States has already banned imports of Russian oil and gas 
and imposed sanctions, but now the administration seems to want to 
extend bank transactions on Russian oil and gas sent to European 
countries. That doesn't make sense to me. There have been bipartisan 
calls here in this Congress to put a halt to sending President Putin 
the money to fund his war machine. Remember, the EU is using Russian 
oil and gas, dependent on it in many cases, and sending roughly $870 
million a day to Russia to fund that war machine. So why would we want 
to extend these licenses to early December?
  I asked the Department of Treasury about this and was told that it 
was to align with the EU sanctions. I fear we are letting EU lead while 
we follow with softer sanctions than we must have in order to get 
Russia to feel as though there is some impact here; that what they are 
doing in Ukraine is hurting their economy.
  America needs to lead from the front on sanctions, not lead from 
behind. When we do lead, by the way, others follow. This is true with 
the revived NATO right now. It is 30 countries strong, and members are 
more committed than ever to pushing back against this Russian invasion.

[[Page S3027]]

  In fact, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and 
Finland have shrugged off a long history of neutrality to apply to join 
NATO. I applaud them for this and look forward to voting in favor of 
their accession treaties on the U.S. Senate floor here very soon.
  Tomorrow, in fact, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is going to 
hold a hearing on their interest in joining the alliance. I urge my 
Senate colleagues to support this, and instead of causing global 
division, as he meant to do, show President Putin that he has brought 
NATO together and added to the strength of NATO.
  I urge swift consideration of NATO expansion. Let's bring the Swedes 
and the Finns into the fold. We can't forget that Russia has claimed 
this war started because Ukraine wanted to join the NATO alliance. It 
is certainly true that as they reaffirmed in 2014, when they threw off 
a Russian-backed corrupt government, the people of Ukraine have been 
looking westward, not eastward.
  Of course, they want to join NATO and they want to join the European 
Union and they want to form ever closer bonds with the transatlantic 
community--and they have made significant progress in doing this. This 
brutal invasion is just Russia's latest attempt to throw that progress 
off course, to stop them from what is their inevitable move to the 
West. We must not be deterred.

  As I have said before, Ukraine deserves NATO membership and 
immediately the NATO membership action plan to provide a clear path to 
eventual membership. At the NATO summit in Madrid last week, much of 
the attention will rightfully be focused on Sweden and Finland, but I 
urge the leaders gathered there to remember Ukraine and Georgia in a 
similar situation as well.
  Just last Friday, there was some big news. The European Commission 
recommended that Ukraine be granted candidate status to join the 
European Union. That is not NATO, but it is the European Union, the 
political union.
  The recommendation by the European Commission, the EU's executive 
body, is a significant step forward toward EU membership. The 
Commission also recommended EU candidate status for Moldova, a country 
with its own troubled history with Russia.
  Here we see Moldova between Romania and Ukraine. Transnistria is 
right along here, which is controlled by the Russians, a small part of 
Moldova. I visited Moldova last month and met with their government, 
including their Prime Minister.
  We have a very strong partner in Moldova. They, too, are looking to 
the West. The people of Moldova want their freedom and freedom from 
Russian intimidation. When the leaders of the EU meet next month in 
Brussels, I hope they will strongly support both Ukraine's and 
Moldova's candidacies toward the European Union.
  Soon, the Senate is going to adjourn for a couple of weeks. During 
that time, Ukraine will be continuing to defend its territorial 
integrity. I have now come to the floor, as I said, every week to 
highlight this fight--every week since this illegal, unprovoked, and 
brutal invasion began.
  The Ukrainian people just want to live in peace, including with their 
neighbor, Russia. This is our fight during our generation where 
democracy is on the line. How this war develops will have far-reaching 
impacts on all of us, all freedom-loving countries, including the 
United States of America.
  Most of us in this Chamber, Republicans and Democrats alike, get 
that. 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 decide their own 
future, America cannot afford to be tentative. That is why we need to 
supply them with these mobile rocket launchers, the HIMAR system, to 
have the range and the ability to protect themselves.
  Let's not be tentative. We must remember the lesson of the late 
1930s: that appeasing tyrants will not satiate their desire to 
violently conquer and subjugate their neighbors. Ukrainians certainly 
understand this. They know what it is like to live under the thumb of 
authoritarians, the Soviets, the Russians, 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, which is what they 
call it, in 2014, where Ukrainians decided for themselves that they 
wanted to turn away from Russian domination and corruption and turn to 
us--Europe and the United States--to pursue a more hopeful future of 
freedom and democracy.
  Now President Putin is trying to extinguish that hope. We cannot let 
that happen. The countries of the free world are with us but more so 
when we lead. Now is not the time to equivocate.
  At this critical juncture, let's work with allies to provide our 
democratic brothers and sisters in Ukraine what they actually need to 
protect their homeland and to defend democracy.
  I yield the floor.