US Congress Urges Putin to Stand Down

With Russia’s war against Ukraine escalating, President Poroshenko has been busy appealing to the US Congress and White House for moral and practical help. Indeed the US, Canada and EU have been in the forefront of condemning Russia for its belligerence against Ukraine and threatening it with additional sanctions if Moscow doesn’t stand down.

Last week Poroshenko called on the Congress to recognize militants and organizations acting eastern Ukraine, as well as those who support them, as terrorists. “It will be an important gesture of solidarity that we are expecting from the entire world,” he pointed out.

His call dovetailed with what many in Ukraine and around the world have been saying about Russian mercenaries and regular troops and officers fighting against Ukrainian armed forces in eastern Ukraine. They are terrorists – and not merely for the amount of death and destruction that they’ve sown. There have been credible reports that Russian invading forces have used civilian residences for target practice.

Poroshenko emphasized that you cannot call those who kill innocent people separatists -- they are terrorists. “Each person in the world must feel how dangerous it is for everyone,” he said.

He pointed out that if anticipated sanctions against Russia do not work – and delaying enacting them do not help, there are grounds to request Congress for a special status of “Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States” that has already been granted to Israel, Australia and the Philippines.

“It is a threat for the whole world. It is not a conflict inside Ukraine. Ukrainian nation is united as never before and the world should find the right answer to the actions of terrorists,” he emphasized.

In the halls of Congress, Congressional Ukrainian Caucus co-Chairs Reps. Jim Gerlach (PA-6th District), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Sander Levin (D-MI) on Thursday, July 24, introduced legislation to provide a clear and specific process to provide direct military and security assistance to the Government of Ukraine as it seeks to strengthen its democracy and prevent Russian violence and aggression within its borders.
HR 5190, the proposed Ukraine Security Assistance Act of 2014, would reinforce the strong relationship between the US and Ukraine and take an important step toward helping Ukraine neutralize the military-support advantage that Russian terrorists are using to target civilian and military aircraft in eastern Ukraine and foster violence and instability across that country.  This legislation would authorize the president to work with the government of Ukraine to assess that country’s military, intelligence, and security needs and provide adequate and necessary assistance to protect Ukrainian democracy and sovereignty.

“The Ukrainian people have made clear their desire to build a stronger democratic self-government and establish closer ties to the European Union and the west,” Gerlach said.  “Unfortunately, as recent events have demonstrated, the Russian Federation will not honor Ukraine’s sovereignty and will continue to meddle within Ukraine’s border until it has broken the spirit of the Ukrainian people.  The evidence released by US and Ukrainian intelligence authorities shows without a doubt that rebel separatists and hired thugs, armed with superior Russian technology and weapons, continue to foment havoc and instability. The bipartisan legislation we introduced today is another important step towards reaffirming the United States’ commitment to helping our Ukrainian allies develop as a fully democratic nation.”

This is the type of support Ukraine needs and deserves now. Ukraine is in the throes of a war for its independence, freedom and continued democratic evolution. The display support from the public officials of the United States and other free countries must be relentless.

HR 5190 was also supported by Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH-9], Rep. Sander Levin [D-MI-9], Rep. Louise Slaughter [D-NY-25], Rep. David Joyce [R-OH-14], Rep. Patrick Tiberi [R-OH-12], Rep. James Renacci [R-OH-16], Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. [D-NJ-9], Rep. Tom Marino [R-PA-10], Rep. Steve Stivers [R-OH-15], and  Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R-PA-8].