Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
December 24, 2021 | Portman Difference
In a new op-ed for the Washington Post, Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) discussed the ongoing security situation in Ukraine, including the threat of Russian invasion. The Senators outlined four actions the Biden administration can take to support Ukraine against Russia’s aggression: the U.S. must increase the military weaponry it sends to Ukraine to enhance the country’s defensive capabilities and tailor that weaponry to the threat Ukrainians will face; the administration should not support any attempts to force Ukraine to cede control in Donbas outside the Minsk agreements; it should reconsider the imposition of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, and; it should continue to build an international coalition of partners in Europe and elsewhere who see the Russian threat for what it really is.
Excerpts of the op-ed can be found below and the full op-ed can be found here.
Ukraine stood with the West in 2014. Today we must stand with Ukraine.
By U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Jeanne Shaheen
Washington Post
Seven years ago, in what Ukrainians call the Revolution of Dignity, the people of Ukraine stood up to their Russian-backed leaders and made a conscious decision to turn to the West.
Ukrainians chose a free, democratic and independent future. Today, that yearning for freedom is even more pronounced. Recent surveys show strong support among Ukrainians — especially youths — for joining the European Union and NATO.
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Moscow would have the world believe that Russia is merely trying to shore up its border against a threat from Ukraine and NATO. This argument has no merit. Ukraine’s military posture has always been purely defensive in nature. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has upheld its commitments under the Minsk agreements between Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which were designed to ensure a cease-fire in Donbas.
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The Biden administration has placed diplomacy at the forefront of its efforts to deter Russia. However, these efforts must be combined with the necessary economic and military measures that would strengthen a diplomatic approach and give it greater credibility.
First, the United States must increase the military weaponry it sends to Ukraine to enhance the country’s defensive capabilities and tailor that weaponry to the threat Ukrainians will face… In Congress, we have advocated to increase security aid: The United States must speed up the pace of assistance and provide antiaircraft, antitank and anti-ship systems, along with electronic warfare capabilities.
Second, the Biden administration should not support any attempts to force Ukraine to cede control in Donbas outside the Minsk agreements. The Russians are using the same playbook there as they have in Crimea and the occupied Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia — seeking to normalize their illegal occupation by backing separatist forces, encouraging the creation of local, pro-Russian governments and issuing Russian passports to local residents. President Biden … must require Russia to withdraw troops from the border before further negotiations begin.
Third, Biden should seriously reconsider the imposition of sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. It is clear that Vladimir Putin is willing to flout international norms to advance what the State Department has described as an emotional agenda to reunite the Soviet Union… the administration should work closely with the new German government to keep the pipeline from becoming operational; it is in Europe’s best interests to deny Putin another arm of influence over our allies.
Finally, the United States must continue to build an international coalition of partners in Europe and elsewhere who see this threat with clear eyes. There is bipartisan support for such an approach in Congress because our colleagues understand that transatlantic unity is critical in responding to the threat posed by Russia.
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How the West responds now will define the trajectory of our relations with Russia and Putin for the next decade. Standing with our allies alongside Ukraine will help ensure a free and stable Europe, which is in the best interest of the people of democracies and American allies around the globe.
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