December 9, 2016

Senators call for stand against Russian aggression, support for NATO and Ukrainian sovereignty

More

Urge increased political, economic and military support for Ukraine

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), co-chairs of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, on December 8 led a bipartisan group of 27 senators to call on President-elect Donald Trump to continue America’s tradition of support for the people of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

“In light of Russia’s continued aggression and repeated refusal to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereign right to choose its own destiny, we also renew our call for the United States to increase political, economic and military support for Ukraine,” the senators wrote. “This includes defensive lethal assistance as part of a broader effort to help Ukrainians better defend themselves, deter future aggression, and implement key structural reforms.”

They added, “Similarly, we believe that Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea should never be accepted, nor should we lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine until key provisions of the Minsk agreement are met.” The full text of the senators’ letter follows.

 

President-elect Donald J. Trump

Trump-Pence Transition Team

1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20006

Dear President-elect Trump,

As members and friends of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, advocates for a strong U.S.-Ukrainian relationship and backers of NATO, we write to convey strong, bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States Senate. We look forward to working with you and your new administration to support our ally Ukraine and help it secure a peaceful and democratic future.

Almost three years after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and military aggression in eastern Ukraine, daily ceasefire violations along the line of contact make a mockery of the Minsk Agreement and demonstrate that this conflict in the heart of Europe is far from over. Russia has yet to withdraw its heavy weapons and continues its sabotage and subversion efforts. It has not halted its disinformation war against Ukraine and the West, nor stopped its economic and political pressure aimed at undermining the Ukrainian government. According to conservative estimates from the United Nations, approximately 10,000 people have been killed, over 20,000 wounded, and more than 2 million internally displaced since the conflict began. And, unfortunately, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers still do not have full, unimpeded access to the Ukrainian-Russian border, while Russia continues to supply weapons, equipment and personnel to the separatists.

Quite simply, Russia has launched a military land-grab in Ukraine that is unprecedented in modern European history. These actions in Crimea and other areas of eastern Ukraine dangerously upend well-established diplomatic, legal and security norms that the United States and its NATO allies painstakingly built over decades – a historically bipartisan global security framework that has greatly served U.S. security and economic interests. We believe it is in our vital national security interest to uphold these norms and values, and prevent America’s commitment to its allies and ideals from being called into question.

In light of Russia’s continued aggression and repeated refusal to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereign right to choose its own destiny, we also renew our call for the United States to increase political, economic, and military support for Ukraine. This includes defensive lethal assistance as part of a broader effort to help Ukrainians better defend themselves, deter future aggression, and implement key structural reforms. Similarly, we believe that Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea should never be accepted, nor should we lift sanctions imposed on Russia for its behavior in eastern Ukraine until key provisions of the Minsk Agreement are met. Accordingly, U.S. leadership on maintaining such trans-Atlantic sanctions should remain a priority.

We look forward to continuing the tradition of bipartisan support for Ukraine in Congress, which has authorized meaningful assistance programs through the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and other pieces of legislation. We stand ready to work with you and your new administration on strengthening the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship and look forward to learning more about your plans to engage on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator

Rob Portman
United States Senator

John McCain
United States Senator

Jeanne Shaheen
United States Senator

Marco Rubio
United States Senator

Sherrod Brown
United States Senator

Ron Johnson
United States Senator

Christopher S. Murphy
United States Senator

Cory Gardner
United States Senator

Richard Blumenthal
United States Senator

Pat Roberts
United States Senator

Jack Reed
United States Senator

Christopher A. Coons
United States Senator

John Barrasso
United States Senator

Benjamin L. Cardin
United States Senator

Lindsey Graham
United States Senator

Robert P. Casey Jr.
United States Senator

John Boozman
United States Senator

Gary C. Peters
United States Senator

Jim Risch
United States Senator

Jeff Merkley
United States Senator

Johnny Isakson
United States Senator

Kirsten Gillibrand
United States Senator

James Inhofe
United States Senator

Amy Klobuchar
United States Senator

Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator

Robert Menendez
United States Senator

Comments are closed.