Condemning and opposing the unprovoked invasion and egregious act of aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 22 Condemning and opposing the unprovoked invasion and egregious act of aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 11, 2023 Ms. JACKSON LEE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Condemning and opposing the unprovoked invasion and egre- gious act of aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Whereas Ukraine was the second-most populous and powerful of the 15 republics of the former and disintegrated Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the hub of the Union’s agricultural production, defense industries, and military arsenal; Whereas in the three decades since gaining its independence, Ukraine has sought to forge its own path as a sovereign state and sought closer economic, social, and political ties with the free market and democratic nations of the West; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR22.IH HR22 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 22 IH Whereas, in February 2014, the military of the Russian Fed- eration, without merit or cause, invaded the eastern part of the free and independent country of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, and backed a separatist insur- gency in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has killed over 14,000 people; Whereas the United States, a strategic ally of Ukraine, re- acted swiftly to the Russian invasion, condemning the military action in strong and bipartisan fashion, and pro- viding military, humanitarian, and nonmilitary financial assistance to the determined but beleaguered nation of Ukraine, which since 2014 has totaled approximately $1.5 billion; Whereas, on September 14, 2014, the House of Representa- tives adopted H. Res. 726, a resolution supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely determine their future, including their country’s relationship with other nations and international organizations, without inter- ference, intimidation, or coercion by other countries, and committed itself to solidarity with the people of Ukraine; Whereas interference and unprovoked aggressions by the Russian Federation ordered and led by Vladimir Putin continued unabated, including the mobilization and sta- tioning of 150,000 Russian troops surrounding Ukraine and armed forces positioned in Belarus to attack Ukraine from the north, including war planes and offensive mis- sile systems, and the movement of Russian naval vessels in the Black Sea to Ukraine’s south, including amphib- ious assault ships, missile cruisers, and submarines, and the positioning of blood and medical equipment into posi- tion on their border; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR22.IH HR22 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 22 IH Whereas Vladimir Putin sought authorization from the Rus- sian Parliament to use military force outside of Russian territory by staging a fraudulent on-camera meeting of his Security Council to grandstand for the Russian public and by recognizing sovereign Ukrainian territory as so- called independent republics in clear violation, again, of international law, all of which was intended to set the stage for further pretexts and further provocations by the Russian Federation to make further aggressions against Ukraine by military action; Whereas Vladimir Putin rejected every good-faith effort the United States and its allies and partners made to address mutual security concerns through dialogue to avoid need- less conflict and avert human suffering; Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation military, at the direction of Vladimir Putin, began a pre- meditated brutal assault on the people of Ukraine with- out provocation, without justification, and without neces- sity, making outlandish, false, and baseless claims that Ukraine was about to invade and launch a war against Russia and that Ukraine was prepared to use chemical weapons, and that Ukraine had committed a genocide; and Whereas these actions were taken by Vladimir Putin at the very moment that the United Nations Security Council was meeting to stand up for Ukraine’s sovereignty to stave off invasion, culminating in missile strikes on his- toric cities across Ukraine, followed by air raids and the invasion of Russian tanks and troops: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR22.IH HR22 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 22 IH (1) strongly condemns and opposes the 1 unprovoked invasion and egregious act of aggression 2 against the sovereign state of Ukraine by the Rus- 3 sian Federation, the most provocative and desta- 4 bilizing act of foreign aggression since the 1938 in- 5 vasion of the Sudetenland by the Third Reich led by 6 Adolph Hitler; 7 (2) supports the right of the people of Ukraine 8 to freely determine their future, including their 9 country’s relationship with other nations and inter- 10 national organizations, without interference, intimi- 11 dation, or coercion by other countries; 12 (3) is committed to promoting democratic val- 13 ues, transparent and accountable government insti- 14 tutions, and supports needed economic structural re- 15 forms in Ukraine, including in the fiscal, energy, 16 pension, and banking sectors, among others; 17 (4) calls upon and commends the Biden admin- 18 istration for assembling and working with an inter- 19 national coalition of the World’s leading nations to 20 ensure that all nations refuse to recognize the illegal 21 invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and 22 to ensure that the Russian Federation is held ac- 23 countable and sustains maximum economic damage 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR22.IH HR22 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 22 IH from the imposition of sanctions as a consequence of 1 its utter disregard for international law and norms; 2 (5) calls upon the Biden administration to ban 3 all Russian airlines including Aeroflot, from entering 4 the airspace of the United States or landing on its 5 soil; and 6 (6) calls upon and commends the Biden admin- 7 istration for honoring and abiding by the commit- 8 ments undertaken by the United States pursuant to 9 Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed at 10 Washington, District of Columbia, on April 4, 1949, 11 and entered into force on August 24, 1949. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jan 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR22.IH HR22 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB