III
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 172
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 25, 2023
Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Graham, and Mr. Whitehouse) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate on Ukrainian victory.
Whereas Ukraine regained its independence in 1991 after three centuries of Moscow’s imperial rule;
Whereas the United States encouraged Ukraine to abandon its arsenal of nuclear weapons, the third largest in the world at the time, in exchange for security assurances in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994;
Whereas the 2004 Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 demonstrated the commitment of Ukrainians to shared ideals of democracy and freedom and their desire for Euroatlantic integration;
Whereas the 2008 Bucharest North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit Declaration states that NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agree today that these countries will become members of NATO.
;
Whereas the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 demonstrated the Russian regime’s imperial fixation on controlling Ukraine, as well as the determination of the Ukrainian people to preserve their sovereignty and independence;
Whereas the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, grossly violating international norms, costing hundreds of thousands of people their lives, and displacing millions;
Whereas, in 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and in November 2022, called on member states to create a mechanism for reparations to be paid to Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 18, 2023, the United States issued a finding that officials of the Russian Federation have committed crimes against humanity;
Whereas the threat to United States interests, European security, and global peace would greatly increase should Ukraine be unable to prevail against the invasion, by emboldening the Russian Federation and other autocratic states to engage in aggression against other states;
Whereas previous attempts to accommodate the Russian Federation’s imperialism have resulted only in increasingly ruinous wars of aggression, anything short of victory for Ukraine would be an intolerable outcome for international peace, human rights, and democracy; and
Whereas United States interests, European security, and the cause of international peace depend on ensuring continued, robust, and longstanding United States support for Ukraine and all free nations from wars of aggression by Russia and its proxies, allies, or other autocratic states: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
affirms that it is the policy of the United States to see Ukraine victorious against the invasion and restored to its internationally recognized 1991 borders;
holds that the peace brought by Ukrainian victory must be secured by integrating Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other Euroatlantic institutions, as consistent with longstanding United States policy; and
declares that the United States must work with its allies and partners to ensure that—
the Russian Federation pays reparations to Ukraine;
the global community helps to rebuild Ukraine;
the leaders of the Russian Federation are held accountable for this war of aggression; and
there is justice for victims of crimes committed by the Russian Federation during its invasion.