This afternoon, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) spoke on the Senate floor about the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukraine, and pointed out Russian violence against Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike. Portman joined members in both chambers in a bipartisan call and spoke with President Zelenskyy and asked what he needs for Ukrainian defensive needs. Portman continued his push for further sanctions on Russian oligarchs and providing Ukraine with additional air defense weaponry like fighter jets that they can fly to assist them when fighting against Russian combat troops.
As President Putin continues his unjustified assault on Ukrainian armed forces and innocent civilians, Portman remains committed to ensuring swift, bipartisan action to support our ally Ukraine. This includes the freezing and seizing of Russian assets, passing an emergency supplemental package, ensuring Ukrainian forces are able to defend themselves, and stronger sanctions.
A transcript of his remarks can be found below and a video can be found
“I come to the Senate floor today to once again talk about the crisis in Ukraine and what we can do here to help. Night has fallen in Ukraine, and in Kyiv, in Kharkiv, and other cities and towns, all through Ukraine the bombing continues. The bombardment of artillery shells, missiles. Thousands of innocent Ukrainians have already lost their lives. We cannot let this stand. We need to work with our allies to stop these atrocities. By the way, all over the country people are standing up and speaking out. A week ago Sunday, I was in Ohio with a thousand people, mostly Ukrainians, Americans of Ukrainian descent, but also people from everyplace – Lativa, Lithuania, Poland, Slovenia – and so many other countries and people who have been Americans for generations who were standing together to say this cannot stand. We had a prayer vigil, and a demonstration. For the prayer vigil, it was in a huge church but there was an overflow crowd pouring out into the street. Yesterday I came to Washington to join such a rally. It was in front of the White House and again it included so many Ukrainians, including from Ohio, but so many others as well. And the rallying cry was ‘we are all Ukrainians today’ because we all believe in democracy and freedom and the right for a country to chart its own course and for people to be independent and free.
“We had rabbis there, we had ministers there, we had clergy there from four or five different denominations. Again, praying, praying for the people of Ukraine. We were all standing together hoping that through joint action we can help during these dark days for the people of Ukraine. We prayed for protection for those in harm's way, of course, we prayed for the courageous Ukrainian troops, some of whom are civilian soldiers who have just joined the armed forces for the first time, some are seasoned professional soldiers, but we prayed for their protection, all of them. We asked for God's wisdom and blessing on the duly elected government of Ukraine. Again, duly elected. We prayed for strength and resolve for President Zelenskyy and for his protection. He has been amazing. He has been resolute and courageous and he has shown the Ukrainian people the way forward, which is to stand up to these barbarous acts.
“If you care about America, you should care about Ukraine. Every freedom-loving country should care because in Ukraine today is where the fight for freedom is being waged. It's not just about Ukraine. It's also about the rest of the countries in Eastern Europe of course -- Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, those countries – but it's also about the entire world isn’t it? It's about can an authoritarian governments step into a free, independent government and take over a territory and kill its citizens. By the way, Ukraine wants nothing, but to live in peace. They are not looking it to attack anybody. They just want to be able to lead a life where they can, in peace, pursue their dreams. Just today, during the negotiations between the Ukrainian government and the Russian government, the Russian Federation, the Russians said that they would only allow humanitarian corridors to go from these cities that they are bombing, where they are killing civilians, they would only allow humanitarian corridors to go into Russian or into Belarus. Think about that for a minute -- so innocent Ukrainian women and children who are fleeing the violence, savagely and illegally brought on by Belarus and by Russia, are told, you can leave but you will be forced to go to the land of your enemies.
“You're forced to go only to Belarus or Russia, the countries that are killing you and your family. That doesn't sound like peace talks to me. There have been numerous recorded war crimes in this assault on Ukraine. One is the way they are dealing with these civilians, obviously. President Putin and his generals and his officials must be held accountable. The Russian Federation’s deliberate targeting of civilians is the most obvious example, but there are so many. The bombing of a nuclear power plant. It is now documented that yesterday – yesterday, and into this morning – Russians shelled Ukrainian citizens who were fleeing the siege of Mariupol while they were transiting through a negotiated humanitarian withdrawal corridor. A corridor that was established for them to escape. They were shelled by Russian combat forces – civilians.
“Because Russians did not keep their word to allow for an humanitarian escape corridor, in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, hundreds of thousands of people remain trapped without food or water, under regular bombardments. Again, this is a tragedy on a scale difficult to comprehend. That's why it's so important to show our support with actions, not just words. A number of my colleagues and I spoke to President Zelenskyy this weekend. It was emotional and it was inspiring. He pleaded for our assistance to help his people and he told us he needs defensive weaponry, like fighter planes and drones, desperately. After the call, I wrote a bipartisan letter to President Biden with my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen. It repeated what we called for over the last several days, which is to help Ukraine able to get what they need, which is more air power. Our Eastern European allies including Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, have older aircraft Solver-era aircrafts such as the MiG-29 and SU-25 that they are willing to provide to Ukraine, but they would like to have an agreement with the United States that they could backfill over time by purchasing advanced fighters, such as F-16's. By the way, the Pols an example already have f-16's, but they also have these older MiG’s they are willing to provide. This seems like a win-win for everybody. For Ukraine certainly, but also for Poland to improve their defensive posture in the wake of what's going on in Ukraine. These Soviet aircrafts are compatible with Ukrainian air force. Their pilots have had the requisite training to operate them.
“Again we've been told they are willing to donate the aircraft if they have assurances and a roadmap that they will be allowed to purchase more aircrafts over time. Let's make this happen. Let's not say we have to go through a long bureaucratic process. Let's be creative here. They need these planes now. They needed them yesterday. This will help to stop some of the atrocities that we talked about. Think of that column, miles and miles of armored vehicles and tanks heading toward Kyiv to kill more civilians. Some air power would be very helpful right now. And their other capabilities such as communication gear, drones that can provide intelligence and surveillance and ammunition, all of it should be moving quickly into Ukraine. I applaud the administration for what they've done, but we've got to do more. We've all seen these horrible images on our television sets. Families torn apart. The ravages of a needless war.
“The deliberate intentional targeting of civilians by rockets, even cluster munitions. By providing lethal and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the U.S. sends a strong message. We stand for freedom and freedom-loving countries. I commend the administration for some of the steps they've taken, as I say, but we've got to do more. I appreciate that we've sanctioned Russian banks, Russian elites, placed limits on high-tech commerce, Russia's ability to do business in dollars. That's all good. The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on economic measures that target the core infrastructure of Russia and more than 50 percent of the total banking system of Russia, which will have devastating economic effects over time. But let's put all the banks into that system. Let's do everything we can to tighten the noose on the Putin economy. Some have asked me why does what is happening in Ukraine matter?
“I was home this weekend and had a lot of positive response but people were also saying ‘Ukraine is a long way away. Why does it matter so much?’ I would say that this is where in our generation, in our time, the cause of freedom is being defended. This is where in our generation and our time, we must protect those who wish to chart their own course, protect their sovereign independent country, and this is where we are being tested, not just the United States but our allies and all freedom-loving people around the world. When the people of Ukraine chose to get rid of a corrupt Russian-backed government eight years ago for a second time by the way, they chose freedom over tyranny. They chose democracy over authoritarianism. They chose to ensure that the people of Ukraine would have the ability to be free and independent. That's what we freedom-loving countries in the world proclaim every day. Now is the time not to shirk our responsibility but to step forward and help any way we can shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine.
“They are defending their homeland fiercely. They have already denied President Putin his early goals. He severely underestimated the power of the freedom and the power of the Ukrainian people. There's no question about that, but in Congress we can and should do more. And the international community must do more to hold Russia accountable. I say to the Russian commanders in the field and to the officials in Moscow, there is another choice. Stop this atrocity. Refuse the orders to kill innocent neighbors. Stop this atrocity that's already taken the lives of thousands of innocent civilians, men, women, and children who want nothing other than to live in peace. I say to those commanders and these officials, the world is watching. The war crimes are being recorded. You have a choice.
“Here in Congress we can do more to tighten the sanctions. We can do more to provide more military assistance to Ukraine. There's bipartisan agreement on so much of this, including the need to cut off the funding that is going to the Putin economy and his war machine. One example of this, but one important one, is not to buy Russian oil and send blood money to Russia. Why would we be importing Russian oil? Sending Russia $40, $50 million a day, that makes no sense. Let's use our natural resources here in North America. We have the resources here. We should not be dependent on the Russian oil. We should not be sending them this blood money. By the way, there's bipartisan agreement on this. Last week I joined legislation with Republicans and Democrats alike, equal number with Senator Murkowski and Senator Manchin to do just that. We need to stop all Russian banks from their access to the international banking system, not some, all.
“I commend the administration's sanctioning of Russian oligarchs and wealthy citizens, but we need to do more. We need to move from freezing assets to seizing assets. We can do that. Other countries have done it. By the way, Germany has done it. France has done it. We should be out front as Americans and not just freezing, but seizing. By the way, those assets that we seize should go to the people of Ukraine to help with the humanitarian effort that is under way. Right now our friends in Ukraine need our help, right now, immediately, yesterday. They can't wait. We have an emergency supplemental bill we're working on here in Congress. Let's get it done. Let's do it outside of the omnibus or the CR or anything else. We know what needs to be done. Let's not wait. Let's not dither. The shells are flying tonight, raining upon the cities of Ukraine and its people.
“We cannot let this call to action go unanswered. We cannot let the Ukrainian people continue to be at the mercy of a tyrannical dictator. We cannot sit by and watch as innocent civilians are being killed. In the West, in America, we must stand up, all of us, for freedom. The world is watching. Our allies are watching. Our adversaries are watching. We must show the world that America does stand for freedom, and we stand with Ukraine. God bless Ukraine, whereas the Ukrainian people say glory to Ukraine, glory to the Ukrainians. Slava Ukraini, Heroiam Slava.”
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