Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
February 14, 2022 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – Tonight, in a show of bipartisan support, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) to discuss new developments in Ukraine regarding a possible Russian invasion. Portman noted the buildup of more than 130,000 Russian combat troops along Ukraine’s border and the need for swift action to deter unnecessary violence before a possible attack, not after. Earlier this year, Portman led a bipartisan delegation of seven senators with Senator Shaheen to Ukraine to assure President Zelenskyy of the United States’ commitment to our allies.
As President Putin has built up offensive forces along Russia’s Ukrainian border, Portman has spoken on the Senate floor to consistently call for bipartisan action to sanction Russia in the case of an invasion.
A transcript of his remarks can be found below and a video can be found here.
“I come to the floor tonight with my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, to discuss the critical situation in Ukraine. Ukraine is an independent country. It’s a democracy. It’s an ally of ours. It’s a country that is currently under siege.
“There is a threat of invasion by Russia that grows every single day. Right now, there are more than 130,000 Russian troops under the command of 100 tactical groups surrounding Ukraine. This Russian deployment includes nuclear capable missiles, rockets, tanks, and artillery. And it’s no longer just on the Eastern border of Ukraine, where there has been activity before, as we’ll discuss, but now in the Northern border, where Russian combat troops and heavy equipment have moved into the country of Belarus. And also in Crimea.
“Additionally, Russia has now deployed amphibious assault ships and other ships into the Black Sea to the south and has positioned its S-400 missile defense system, which could stop flights into Ukraine. So from the east, from the north and from the south, Ukraine is facing this threat. News accounts say additional equipment is actually being moved to the Ukrainian border, not being pulled away. While there are differing views on whether Russia has made the final decision as to whether to invade or not, there is no question that they have now amassed the capability needed to conduct a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Let’s not forget that Russia has invaded Ukraine twice in the past eight years, illegally annexing Crimea and inserting troops and offensive military equipment into the Donbass region in the east.
“They’ve also targeted cyberattacks against public and private entities in Ukraine and continue to use information to try to destabilize the democratically elected government of Ukraine. By the way, Ukrainians have lost about 14,000 citizens in the last five years at the hands of the Russians. fourteen thousand fathers, brothers. That would be, as a percentage of our population, like the United States losing about 115,000 people. That’s more than we lost in Vietnam and Korea combined. Actually, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Think how we would feel. And let’s not forget that Russia continues, day by day, to conduct this low-grade but serious war against Ukraine.
“We all hope that instead of an invasion, Russia chooses a diplomatic end to this current crisis. But we’ve got to treat this threat of an invasion as a very real and serious possibility, doing anything else would be irresponsible, given the massive mobilization and the past malign behavior. And all freedom-loving countries have an interest here. Ukraine is where the cause of freedom is under siege today, in our generation. Eight years ago, Ukrainians made a very deliberate choice. They stood up to a corrupt Russian-backed government, and they turned to the west, to the European Union, to America. They said that they wanted to be like us. I was in Ukraine in 2014, shortly after what is called the Euromaidan, or the Revolution of Dignity. The barricades were still there in the center of town. The Maidan is a square that was still occupied by Ukrainian Patriots. They sat there in makeshift tents in the cold because they believed that their hard won freedom was worth defending. And they did defend it.
“In the protests against the Russian-backed government, they lost 100 Ukrainian citizens by the security forces of the Russian-backed government. These individuals were called the heavenly 100 and still honored today by memorials at the Maidan. Their freedom came at a high price and they were willing to defend it then as they are today.
“I was there as an election observer with other American and European officials, mostly parliamentarians from Europe, and we witnessed a fair and robust presidential election with a huge turnout. I saw their patriotism and national pride. The Ukrainian people are proud and consider themselves Ukrainian, not Russian. They’ve been a free and independent country for 30 years. And since the protests in 2014, they’ve been on a track toward a Western-focused democracy and a free market economy. It is their choice to be free and independent. And no country, no country has the right to take that away from them.
“I also want to highlight a change since 2014 and that is in the proficiency of the Ukrainian military and the great tragedy that would result from an illegal invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s military will stand up and they are ready. The military of today is a professional force that has been fighting this low grade war with Russia for the past eight years. It’s not the military they had in 2014. They are instead battle hardened today. And thanks to the United States and our allies, including many NATO allies, they are better trained and better equipped than ever before.
“I’ve been to the line of contact in the Donbass region. The line of contact, which is where the Russian troops are on one side and Ukrainian troops on the other, firing back and forth periodically. I’ve seen these troops from Ukraine. They’re tough, they know how to fight, and they will fight to defend their country.
“And Ukraine is a big country. It’s a nation of 41 million people. In the capital city of Kyiv, there are almost three million people. Think about the humanitarian disaster that will ensue if there is an invasion. Millions of innocent civilians displaced from their homes in the dead of the Ukrainian winter, fleeing desperately for safety while fighting rages around them. This is not a site anybody wants to see. By the way, the blood of these innocents will be on the hands of the Russians. And there will be significant Russian casualties as well. And severe multilateral sanctions that will be devastating for the Russian economy, and targeted sanctions that will ensure that the era of Russian oligarchs treating the west as their playground while pillaging their own country of resources and wealth will be no more.
“In 2014, the Ukrainian people rejected authoritarianism and chose instead democracy, freedom of speech, freedom to gather, respect for the rule of law, free markets, prosperity. They’re not going back. Despite Russia’s unrelenting efforts to destabilize Ukraine over the past eight years, the people of Ukraine remain committed to this independent, sovereign and Democratic nation. They don’t want state control, repression or fear. They instead seek Liberty and opportunity.
“Moscow would have the world believe that somehow this massive, unwarranted Russian build up is about trying to shore up its border against threats from Ukraine and NATO. This is, of course, patently false and should be rejected out of hand by America and its many allies. Ukraine’s military posture has always been defensive. They just want to be left alone. And unlike Russia, Ukraine has upheld its commitments under the Minsk agreements, which were designed to ensure a ceasefire in the Donbass region. NATO, of course, is defensive and is no threat to Russian territorial integrity.
“It’s important to note that Ukraine is not asking for us to fight this war for them. They are asking us for increased lethal military assistance to help them defend themselves should Russia make a mistake and invade Ukraine again. And they are asking all of us to abide by commitments we have made. In 1994, after the Berlin Wall came down, Ukraine signed what’s called the Budapest Memorandum. It was a treaty where Ukraine agreed to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, that we would all respect the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and refrain from the threat or the use of force against Ukraine. These are commitments that must be honored.
“I know there’s a lot that our country and this Congress are divided over today, and we see it played out on the floor and in the media constantly. But I will tell you, Republicans and Democrats alike are united in backing Ukraine in this crisis. That’s why it’s so important my colleague from New Hampshire is on the floor with me today. She has been a stalwart. We traveled to Ukraine a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to meet with the leading officials there, including President Zelenskyy, but also talk to the Ukrainian people and we let them know that on a bipartisan basis we support Ukraine.
“We have a bipartisan consensus on the broad structure of sanctions and an aid package for Ukraine. The sanctions, by the way, would cripple the Russian economy. We have some disagreement perhaps over pre-invasion or post-invasion sanctions and how much on each, but we agree on sanctions. We also agree on assisting Ukraine with further and much needed support, defense against cyberattacks as an example that the Russians are already conducting and we expect more to come, disinformation attacks coming from Russia. We agree, Republicans and Democrats alike, not just on sanctions but providing more support to Ukraine for these critical areas. And of course, we agree on providing more military assistance to Ukraine so they can defend themselves.
“We’ve come to a consensus on these issues. What we now need is for all of us to work together, including the White House, to ensure that we can step forward and put legislation or a resolution on the floor to ensure that we are doing whatever we possibly can to make it clear what the consequences will be to act as a deterrent from Russia making a terrible mistake. This is a critical time for us to act and to lead. It’s time for us in the Congress and for this government to speak with one voice. Freedom in Eastern Europe depends on it, but so does the cause of freedom all around the world.
“I’d now like to yield to my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen.”
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