[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2452-H2453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IN SUPPORT OF UKRAINE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Subcommittee on National 
Security, I rise in strong support of aid for a free and independent 
Ukraine. I also stand in solidarity with the more than 37 million 
Ukrainian people who have never relented in their fight for freedom in 
the face of more than 2 years of state-sponsored terrorism launched by 
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  This past weekend, the Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed 
Forces reported that with U.S. assistance depleted, Ukrainian army 
positions along the country's 600-mile eastern border have ``worsened 
significantly in recent days.''
  With Ukrainian soldiers facing a critical munitions shortage, Russian 
troops are currently firing 10 artillery rounds for every Ukrainian 
round. Until the prolonged impasse on Ukraine funding here in Congress, 
the United States was the primary ammunition supplier for the Ukrainian 
army. Now, the top American military commander in Europe describes the 
situation succinctly when he says: ``If one side can shoot and the 
other side can't shoot back, the side that can't shoot back loses.'' It 
is as simple as that.
  Ukraine's air and missile defense systems are also similarly 
depleted. In reference to a recent Russia air strike targeting a key 
power plant in the Kyiv region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 
indicated that Ukraine simply ran out of the missiles necessary to 
defend its critical energy infrastructure.
  Russia, in fact, has taken full tactical advantage of escalating 
lapses in the Ukrainian air defenses, launching aerial offenses against 
almost every power plant in the country.
  Not surprisingly, Russian troops are continuing to advance in the 
Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, a primary goal of Vladimir Putin. 
Russia has brutally bombarded the city of Myrnohrad, also known as the 
City of Peace, and is now well-positioned to capture the strategic town 
of Chasiv Yar, whose high ground will enable Russian forces to launch 
direct offensives against the last Ukrainian strongholds in the east.
  Meanwhile, over 40 percent of Ukraine's civilian population--or 
nearly 15 million people--are in need of urgent humanitarian 
assistance. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in 
Ukraine reports that the country endured a 20 percent increase in 
civilian casualties and injuries last month over February of 2024, with 
double the number of children killed or injured.
  Moreover, large-scale coordinated attacks on Ukraine's civilian 
energy infrastructure destroyed or damaged 20 energy facilities across 
the country, leaving millions without electricity and running water.
  According to the Global Rights Compliance, an international human 
rights organization that is assisting the Ukrainian Government 
investigating and prosecuting Russia war crimes, ``The stark reality is 
that more and more Ukrainians are dying by the day as the Ukraine aid 
package remains stalled in Congress.''
  After several months of refusing to even consider aid for Ukraine, 
Speaker Johnson is now indicating that he plans to bring up a foreign 
package as soon as this week. Unfortunately, the House Republican 
majority is still playing politics with a matter of grave

[[Page H2453]]

importance to the Ukrainian people and democracy globally, going to 
great lengths to craft legislation designed to appease an extreme 
faction of the Republican Conference.
  This political gamesmanship continues even though the United States 
Senate passed a bipartisan foreign aid package more than 2 months ago 
that I believe would easily pass this House with the necessary support 
from Members on both sides of the aisle.

  We have reached a new low in this Congress. It is totally unthinkable 
throughout our history that a Republican Member of this House would 
attack a democratic ally and support a gangster and a war criminal like 
Vladimir Putin, but that is where we are today.
  Ukrainian President Zelenskyy recently stated that the United States 
Congress needs to think twice about pushing these political matters 
with regard to supporting Ukraine and vote to support all of the 
countries whose lives depend upon it. I strongly agree. I urge the 
House Republican leadership to take up the Senate bill and ensure that 
Ukraine and our other international allies like Israel will receive the 
support they urgently need.

                          ____________________