[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 172--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON UKRAINIAN 
                                VICTORY

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. Graham, and Mr. Whitehouse) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 172

       Whereas Ukraine regained its independence in 1991 after 
     three centuries of Moscow's imperial rule;
       Whereas the United States encouraged Ukraine to abandon its 
     arsenal of nuclear weapons, the third largest in the world at 
     the time, in exchange for security assurances in the Budapest 
     Memorandum of 1994;
       Whereas the 2004 Orange Revolution and the Revolution of 
     Dignity in 2014 demonstrated the commitment of Ukrainians to 
     shared ideals of democracy and freedom and their desire for 
     Euroatlantic integration;
       Whereas the 2008 Bucharest North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization Summit Declaration states that ``NATO welcomes 
     Ukraine's and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations for 
     membership in NATO. We agree today that these countries will 
     become members of NATO.'';
       Whereas the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 
     demonstrated the Russian regime's imperial fixation on 
     controlling Ukraine, as well as the determination of the 
     Ukrainian people to preserve their sovereignty and 
     independence;
       Whereas the Russian Federation launched a full-scale 
     invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, grossly violating 
     international norms, costing hundreds of thousands of people 
     their lives, and displacing millions;
       Whereas, in 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, the United 
     Nations General Assembly affirmed the territorial integrity 
     of Ukraine, and in November 2022, called on member states to 
     create a mechanism for reparations to be paid to Ukraine;
       Whereas, on February 18, 2023, the United States issued a 
     finding that officials of the Russian Federation have 
     committed crimes against humanity;
       Whereas the threat to United States interests, European 
     security, and global peace would greatly increase should 
     Ukraine be unable to prevail against the invasion, by 
     emboldening the Russian Federation and other autocratic 
     states to engage in aggression against other states;
       Whereas previous attempts to accommodate the Russian 
     Federation's imperialism have resulted only in increasingly 
     ruinous wars of aggression, anything short of victory for 
     Ukraine would be an intolerable outcome for international 
     peace, human rights, and democracy; and
       Whereas United States interests, European security, and the 
     cause of international peace depend on ensuring continued, 
     robust, and longstanding United States support for Ukraine 
     and all free nations from wars of aggression by Russia and 
     its proxies, allies, or other autocratic states: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) affirms that it is the policy of the United States to 
     see Ukraine victorious against the invasion and restored to 
     its internationally recognized 1991 borders;
       (2) holds that the peace brought by Ukrainian victory must 
     be secured by integrating Ukraine into the North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization and other Euroatlantic institutions, as 
     consistent with longstanding United States policy; and
       (3) declares that the United States must work with its 
     allies and partners to ensure that--
       (A) the Russian Federation pays reparations to Ukraine;
       (B) the global community helps to rebuild Ukraine;
       (C) the leaders of the Russian Federation are held 
     accountable for this war of aggression; and
       (D) there is justice for victims of crimes committed by the 
     Russian Federation during its invasion.

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