[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.