    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Pages S1023-S1024]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                    Ukraine

      Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it was nearly 3 years ago that the world
    watched in horror as Russia pursued a bloody, full-scale invasion of
    the sovereign nation of Ukraine.
      I was in Vilnius, Lithuania, with my colleague Senator Chris Coons on
    that cold, dark morning in the airport when we heard reports first
    trickle out that the war was, again, starting in Europe.
      Three years ago, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not a partisan
    issue in the United States. Congressmen, Senators on both sides of the
    aisle agreed on the basic facts: Russia was waging an unprovoked,
    illegal war and must be stopped at all costs. And for the past 3 years,
    we have supported Ukraine with the funding it needed to beat back
    Russian aggression and defend the frontline of democracy in Europe. And
    the Ukrainian people have done just that. Forty-six thousand Ukrainian
    lives have been lost--46,000 defending their Nation against Putin.
      We have joined with our NATO allies and many other countries around
    the world standing by Ukraine, and they have shown an extraordinary
    courage, a courage for the history books. But it turns out that the new
    President of the United States, Donald Trump, does not see this the
    same way as I do and as we have for 3 years.

      The fact of the matter is that President Donald Trump is a pushover
    for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has always been, and he will
    always be. Since Trump took office, he has played right into Putin's
    hands. The outrageous comments he posted today on Truth Social make
    that painfully clear. In the post, Trump attacked not Putin for the
    invasion but the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy--blaming him
    for Russia's invasion which, as I said, has killed more than 46,000
    Ukrainians and displaced millions more.
      It is disgusting to say that President Trump called Zelenskyy, the
    President

    [[Page S1024]]

    of Ukraine, a ``dictator without elections.'' Can you believe it? An
    American President is selling out a democratic leader who is bravely
    defending his country from an actual dictator, Putin--a former KGB
    apparatchik at that. It is insulting to say that--it is shameful--but
    from this President, it is no surprise. President Trump is doing
    nothing more than parroting criminal propaganda and spreading lies that
    Putin whispers into his ear.
      I could call on Trump to apologize to the people of Ukraine, who have
    suffered so much because of this disruption to their nation, but it
    would be a waste of breath.
      Let me be clear to President Trump: You don't make America great by
    selling out our Nation and our allies to a Russian dictator.
      Most of my Republican colleagues know this. I have spoken with them
    over the years. They have joined me in a bipartisan coalition to be
    part of the Ukrainian Caucus in the Senate, but it is time now for them
    to speak up. I know they are politically fearful of Donald Trump and
    his power. If they say the wrong thing, he, with Elon Musk's money,
    will come in and take them out in the primary. But there has to be a
    point where they stand up and say what they really believe and have the
    courage to do it.
      I am reminded of a quote from a fellow Illinoisan, our Nation's 16th
    President. It was 1865. Our Nation had been torn apart by the bloodshed
    of the Civil War. Ahead of his inauguration for a second term,
    President Abraham Lincoln addressed the Nation--right out there.
      He said:

           Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war
         rather than let the nation survive . . . and the other would
         accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

      Although President Lincoln was referring to the two factions of the
    Civil War, I believe it applies here as well. Putin has made war rather
    than let Ukraine survive, and Ukraine has had no choice but to accept
    war rather than see itself perish.
      President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people have led that noble
    effort with strength, fortitude, and determination. As their ally and
    fellow democracy, which Putin certainly is not, and as a nation
    committed to freedom, the United States of America has an obligation to
    stand by Ukraine, not to appease Putin.