    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Pages S1314-S1316]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

     SENATE RESOLUTION 91--ACKNOWLEDGING THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSIA'S
     FURTHER INVASION OF UKRAINE AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF
                                    UKRAINE

      Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Wicker, Mr.
    Bennet, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Daines, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Curtis,
    Mr. Coons, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Schatz,
    Ms. Collins, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                                   S. Res. 91

           Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-
         scale, unprovoked, and illegal invasion of Ukraine, which
         followed Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and
         its illegal occupation of parts of the Donbas region in 2014;
           Whereas the international community recognizes the
         sovereignty and full territorial integrity of Ukraine within
         the 1991 borders; and
           Whereas the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the people of
         Ukraine have demonstrated a determined resistance that has
         prevented Russia from taking control of their country: Now,
         therefore, be it
           Resolved, That the Senate--
           (1) expresses continued solidarity with the people of
         Ukraine and condolences for the loss of tens of thousands of
         Ukrainian people to Russian aggression;
           (2) rejects Russia's attempts to militarily seize sovereign
         territory in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe;
           (3) reaffirms the support of the United States for the
         sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine;
           (4) commends NATO, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, and
         the international community for their continued efforts to
         support Ukraine's defense and the protection of human rights
         on its territory;
           (5) supports Ukraine's aspirations to integrate into Euro-
         Atlantic structures;
           (6) recognizes Ukraine's efforts to strengthen its
         democracy during wartime;
           (7) encourages the transatlantic community to continue to
         denounce Russia's illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine and
         counter Russian aggression; and
           (8) emphasizes that Ukraine must be a participant in
         discussions with the Russian Federation about Ukraine's
         future.
      Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it was nearly 40 years ago President
    Ronald Reagan went to the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and he
    said to the Soviets, ``Tear down this wall.'' Ronald

    [[Page S1315]]

    Reagan understood all too well what the Soviet regime was all about: It
    was a regime that had seized Eastern Europe and condemned millions of
    individuals to live under a cruel and repressive communist
    dictatorship.
      My mother's family originally came from Lithuania, once an
    independent country, then a republic of the Soviet Union, now an
    independent democratic country again. That country meant a lot, and
    still does, to my family. I certainly recall the stories of my
    grandparents leaving the Russian domination and coming to America.
      Until recently, Americans across the political spectrum, including
    Republican Presidents and Members of Congress, saw Russian tyranny for
    what it was--until now.
      Today, we see President Trump doing the bidding of Russian autocrat
    Vladimir Putin. That is right: The President of the United States of
    America is using talking points that sound like they were whispered in
    his ear by the Kremlin, all while denigrating and bullying our true
    allies in the region.
      If you don't believe me, listen to these quotes and try to guess
    whether Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump said them.
      First, outrageously claiming Ukraine started the war with Russia:

           It's they who have started the war.

      Or:

           You've been there for three years. You should have ended
         it. You should have never started it.

      How about attacking the legitimacy of heroic wartime Ukrainian
    President Vladimir Zelenskyy, who was democratically elected in a free
    and fair election--something that has never taken place in Russia.

           The legitimacy of the incumbent head of state of Ukraine is
         over.

      Or calling him ``a dictator without elections.''
      In each of these stunning examples, one was spoken by Putin, the
    other by Trump. It is impossible to guess which is which, but you would
    be hard-pressed to figure it out because they are both using the same
    Kremlin propaganda.
      It gets worse, with Donald Trump having negotiated away in public the
    key concessions to Russia to end the war, including appeasement of
    Ukraine's sovereign borders or possible future NATO membership.
      Trump, with not even a phone call, gave those away without even
    negotiating and certainly didn't involve the Ukrainians, who have lost
    46,000 brave Ukrainians who have died because of Putin's invasion.
      Today, in a stunning, shameful move, the United States voted with
    Russia, North Korea, Belarus, and a handful of other dictatorships at
    the United Nations against a resolution condemning Russian aggression
    in Ukraine.
      I want to repeat that because it is so historic and so mind-boggling.
    There was a resolution before the United Nations condemning Russia on
    the third anniversary of their invasion of Ukraine, and the United
    States' representative voted against it, joined in that effort by
    Russia, itself, North Korea, Belarus, and a handful of other
    dictatorships.
      What in the world is going on here? Former Lithuanian Foreign
    Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said of this tragic and unbelievable
    state of affairs that it sounded like there was a handout prepared by
    the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov from which the Trump administration
    was reading.
      He warned if Trump continues to back Russia:

           Threats to Ukrainian security will grow immensely. Putin
         will get braver. Meaning, there will be more war, more
         invasion, more death in Moldova, the Baltics, Georgia, maybe
         even Poland.

      President Trump's affinity for autocrats like Putin and selling out
    or bullying our allies isn't going to make America stronger or our
    world safer. Nor will his petulant and bumbling weekend gutting of our
    top military officers--a troubling act that raises serious questions
    about politicizing our proud, professional fighting force in America.
      Let me be clear: We cannot let President Trump rewrite history or
    upend proven alliances with decades of bipartisan support. Because of
    the NATO alliance, we have avoided a third world war for more than 75
    years. That is a fact.
      Ultimately, only the Ukrainian people can decide Ukraine's future.
    For the United States to be party to any other scheme or conspiracy is
    just unacceptable.
      Doing the bidding of foreign dictators and playing politics with our
    own military only undermine America's ability to be safe.
      Today is the third-year anniversary of Russia's unprovoked and
    illegal invasion of Ukraine. I am glad to join Senators Shaheen,
    Tillis, Wicker, and others in leading a simple resolution that
    expresses continued solidarity with the people of Ukraine and
    condolences for the loss of thousands of lives to Russian aggression. I
    would think that every Senator of both political parties would sign on,
    but fortunately we do have a few, and it is bipartisan.
      The resolution goes on to reject Russia's attempts to militarily
    seize sovereign Ukraine territory. It reaffirms U.S. support for the
    sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. That used to be so
    obvious and so easy, no one would enter a resolution into the Record,
    but because of the new statements by President Trump and Vice President
    Vance, it is necessary to state unequivocally that Ukraine must be at
    the table for negotiations over its future.
      Think of that--46,000 people in Ukraine died to stop Putin's advance
    and invasion of Ukraine--46,000--and there was a suggestion that the
    negotiations for peace in the country would take place without Ukraine
    seated at the table. How can that be possible?
      This resolution is straightforward. It expresses what would have--
    before this current administration--been seen as a cut-and-dried
    statement of American values when standing up to bullies and tyrants
    like Vladimir Putin, a known war criminal.
      I am also introducing a bill to grant Ukrainians who fled the war and
    are already legally present in the United States with temporary guest
    status. Oh, I know, it is immigration. It is an explosive issue. How in
    the world could we consider it? Let me tell you what happened in the
    city of Chicago.
      The Governor of Texas sent 50,000 migrants in buses--800 buses--to
    the city of Chicago to dump these migrants into a situation where there
    was no place for them to stay, no provision for their food. It was an
    emergency situation. We did the humane thing. We did our best to take
    care of them and the children--50,000 from Texas. It was a
    controversial issue, and there were some who said ``Don't spend a penny
    on them; spend it just on American citizens'' and others who said ``We
    have an obligation that goes beyond simple citizenship. It is a human
    obligation, a moral obligation,'' and we did it.
      At the same time that took place, there were 50,000 Ukrainians coming
    into the city of Chicago as well--different circumstances. They had to
    have a host family that would stand by them as they settled down in the
    city of Chicago, and they had to find jobs.
      Do you know how much controversy there was about those 50,000
    Ukrainians? None. They were assimilated into the economy and have
    become an important part of the city and our State, and I am proud that
    they are there.
      So now what happens to them? The uncertainty of the continuing war in
    Ukraine, the embracing of Putin by President Trump--what is going to
    happen? With this United Nations resolution today, where we were just
    asked to acknowledge the war of 3 years and to stand by the Ukrainians,
    the United States voted no. The United States voted with Russia, with
    North Korea, and with Belarus.
      We have to do something to help these Ukrainians who are here, who
    escaped the invasion of Putin and found peace and security in our
    country.
      When the war started, across the country, Republicans opened their
    arms and hearts and communities to these desperate Ukrainians, even
    actively petitioning President Biden to protect them from deportation.
    So far, not a single Republican has cosponsored my bill. It is a new
    day in Washington. But I urge them to join this simple act of American
    compassion. Standing up to dictators and speaking out for victims of
    war should never be a partisan issue.
      I want to end with a photo.
      The year was 2014 when the late Senator John McCain and I led a
    bipartisan delegation to Ukraine that included current colleagues from
    Rhode

    [[Page S1316]]

    Island, Wyoming, and North Dakota. At the time, Russia had begun its
    attempts to seize Crimea and capture additional territory in the
    eastern part of Ukraine. Ukrainians had just bravely stood up for their
    own democracy, many paying with their lives in Maidan Square--an
    aspiration for freedom and democracy that frightened Putin and
    confirmed my belief in the strength of the human spirit.
      You see here in this photo we are laying flowers on the makeshift
    shrines to those Ukrainians who were killed in the earliest days of
    their heroic effort to save their nation.
      We should show no less courage here today on a bipartisan basis in
    making sure Ukraine's sovereignty and future are secure and not giving
    in, in appeasement to Putin--a move that could cost us dearly in the
    future.
      It is personal to me. I mentioned to you earlier that my mother was
    born in the Baltic nation of Lithuania. It has been my good fortune to
    visit it during Soviet times and see the terrible impact of communism
    on the freedom of those people and to be standing by their side when
    they fought to have the day when they could have their own democracy
    and their own elections.
      They survived. They prospered. They are great nations--Lithuania,
    Latvia, Estonia--and I know that their future is at stake by this
    decision by President Trump.
      You cannot embrace Vladimir Putin and ignore the obvious. He is a
    thug. He has sent his invading troops in and killed 46,000 Ukrainians.
    Well, they say he has lost 800,000 of his own. Well, I am sorry that
    happened in a way, but he asked for it. He invaded Ukraine--don't make
    any mistake. It didn't happen the other way around. The Ukrainians
    didn't invade themselves. What kind of nonsense was that being spoken
    by the President?
      We have to stand by the people of Ukraine and for the people of the
    Baltics, Moldova, and other states, like Poland, that are vulnerable to
    attack by Vladimir Putin. This is not a political charade. It is not a
    political game. It is the life-and-death reality of this dangerous
    world we live in.
      Once again, the United States should be leading in democratic values
    and certainly not embracing the war criminal Vladimir Putin.

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