Sen. Menendez followed up on January 29 with a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, strongly urging the Obama administration “to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defend itself.”
Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on February 3 urged President Obama and NATO to rapidly increase military assistance to Ukraine to defend its sovereign borders against escalating Russian aggression. They were joined by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
In their joint letter, the 15 senators wrote: “Russia’s affront to established international norms is a direct threat to decades of established European security architecture and the democratic aspirations of the Ukrainian people. It must not be allowed to succeed. We believe it is time to increase military assistance to Ukraine and urge the U.S. and NATO to move quickly. Despite the welcome imposition of U.S. and EU sanctions and mounting international isolation, Russian President [Vladimir] Putin appears willing to gamble his country’s economy and world standing to further his blatant military invasion of another nation. …Such a dangerous international bully will only stand down when faced with credible resistance.”
Even as news stories more and more frequently reported that the Obama administration was considering lethal aid to Ukraine, The Washington Post’s Carol Morello reported on February 5 that Secretary Kerry had arrived in Kyiv, “bearing a modest package of humanitarian aid but stopping short of offering the expanded military assistance sought by Ukraine.” She also noted: “Kerry announced on his arrival that the United States would provide an additional $16 million in humanitarian aid to buy blankets, repair homes, obtain wheelchairs and provide counseling for the victims of ongoing war in Ukraine. There was no mention of defensive military equipment.”
In a joint appearance with President Poroshenko, Mr. Kerry said the U.S. wants “a peaceful resolution” to the conflict in Ukraine. According to a transcript released by the U.S. State Department, he added: “But we cannot close our eyes to tanks that are crossing the border from Russia and coming into Ukraine. We can’t close our eyes to Russian fighters in unmarked uniforms crossing the border and leading individual companies of so-called separatists in battle. We can’t close our eyes to modern rockets and modern radar capacity and other capacity that has crossed the border in order to prosecute this conflict across sovereign lines, across international borders, against all the promises that were made in the Minsk ceasefire agreement.”
In Munich on February 7, Vice-President Biden said that, unless Russia changed course in its involvement in Ukraine, the international community would continue to “impose costs” on Moscow for its “violation of international norms.” He said Russia was disregarding Ukraine’s sovereignty with its involvement in eastern Ukraine, and charged that pro-Russian separatist leaders and the core of the “trained fighters” in eastern Ukraine “directly answer to Mr. Putin.” The U.S. vice-president told an audience that included world leaders and senior officials that no country had spheres of influence and that every independent country had the “sovereign right to choose its own alliances” – a warning that Russia cannot keep Ukraine out of the European Union or NATO against its will. He also left open the possibility of Washington providing defensive military aid to Ukraine, but said, “Let me be clear: we do not believe there is a military solution in Ukraine.”
Soon afterwards, on February 9, Sens. Portman and Durbin announced the launch of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, who goal is to strengthen the political, military, economic and cultural relationship between the United States and Ukraine. Its two co-chairs said the caucus would immediately focus on the need for a sustained U.S. commitment to Ukraine in the face of a Russian-backed separatist offensive.
Sen. Portman said: “I look forward to working with Sen. Durbin and our caucus members to establish the Senate Ukraine Caucus as a key voice on Capitol Hill for stronger U.S.-Ukrainian relations.” Sen. Durbin noted: “We form the Senate Ukraine Caucus at a time of real peril for the people of Ukraine… Ukraine needs a steadfast ally in the United States. This bipartisan group sends a clear message that Ukraine has the unflinching support of the Ukrainian community in Illinois and in the United States.” Sens. Ayotte, Murphy, Brown and Kirk were announced as vice-chairs of the caucus. The first meeting of the Senate Ukraine Caucus took place on February 26.
Expressing their disappointment with the position of Western leaders on the Ukraine crisis, Sens. McCain and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on February 17 stated: “The chancellor of Germany and the president of France, with the support of the president of the United States, are legitimizing the dismemberment of a sovereign nation in Europe for the first time in seven decades.” The two senators underscored that the U.S. must provide defensive weapons to Ukraine and apply additional sanctions on Russia. They noted: “It is inexcusable to adhere to a failed ceasefire agreement as Russia and its Ukrainian proxies escalate their uncompromising siege of Debaltseve. Western leaders say there is no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin clearly does not think so. He continues his aggression, and in the absence of greater Western support for Ukrainian forces, a Russian-imposed military solution is exactly what will continue to unfold in Ukraine, just as it has in parts of Georgia and Moldova.”
The Ukrainian Weekly’s editorial of February 22 opined: “Here in the U.S., President Barack Obama continues his hands-off approach to Ukraine. At home, he has Vice-President Joe Biden doing the phone calling, and sometimes allows Secretary of State John Kerry to get a word in, while in the international arena, he’s let Germany and France take the lead – with the disastrous results of Minsk 2. And just what was the goal of Minsk 2? Many say it was to stop dead in its tracks the move to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons just as the U.S. was leaning toward doing that. Instead we’re left with the administration’s new National Security Policy of ‘strategic patience’ – never mind that Russia has violated every major post-World War II international agreement, from the U.N. Charter and the Helsinki Accords to the Budapest Memorandum.”
On the occasion of the first anniversary of Ukraine’s Euro-Maidan demonstrations, Congressional Ukrainian Caucus co-chairs Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) on February 24 introduced a resolution that called for the United States to assist Ukraine with economic, social and governmental reform efforts; urged President Obama to immediately act on approved financial and defensive military aid; and encouraged Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to continue anti-corruption efforts.
“A year ago, the people of Ukraine rallied behind the ideas of economic and governmental reform during the Euro-Maidan demonstrations; today, the United States must take action to see their goals achieved,” said Rep. Fitzpatrick. “This bipartisan resolution calls on Congress and the White House to work in the best interest of our friend and ally, Ukraine, and support a safe and sovereign nation through common sense measures: Supporting serious reform efforts, calling on President Obama to follow through with the provision of financial and defensive military aid, and encouraging the continuation of anti-corruption efforts in Kyiv.”
A press statement by Secretary of State Kerry, titled “One Year Anniversary of the Maidan Protests in Ukraine,” was released on February 21. Mr. Kerry noted the events of 2014 and referred to his moving visits to Euro-Maidan venues, where he paid his respects to the fallen. “We will never forget those who lost their lives and raised their voices for freedom and dignity. … the Euro-Maidan protesters stood up against injustice and sparked the birth of a new Ukraine,” Secretary Kerry stated. “Today we are united with Ukraine in somber remembrance of the sacrifices made by the ‘Heavenly Hundred.’ We also recognize the efforts of the people of Ukraine to make progress over this difficult year. From Lviv to Luhansk, from Chernivtsi to Sevastopol, Ukrainians are coming together to define their own future.”
On March 1, the U.S. said it had evidence that Russian generals were directing the fighting in Ukraine’s east. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt said on the Ukrainian channel Inter TV: “We believe that Russian generals are involved in the conflict in the Donbas, and that the Russian officers command tactical military operations in the Donbas. We know that Russia is using modern electronic missile guidance systems of the air-to-surface class. …We know that the regular troops of the Russian army took part in the occupation of Debaltseve, and in military actions that continued even after the Minsk agreements had to come into force.” The ambassador added, “This conflict may be ended by one phone call – a call by Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
U.S. Army Europe Commander Ben Hodges said on March 3 that the U.S. military estimated some 12,000 Russian soldiers were supporting pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine and that about 29,000 Russian troops were in Crimea. The Russian forces are made up of military advisers, weapons operators and combat troops. Speaking in Berlin, Commander Hodges said that helping Ukraine with weapons would increase the stakes for President Putin at home. “When mothers start seeing sons come home dead, when that price goes up, then that domestic support begins to shrink,” he said. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, also voiced support for arming Ukraine on March 3. Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, he said Washington “should absolutely consider” providing Kyiv with arms through NATO.
On March 4, a bipartisan group of House leaders and committee chairs – eight Republicans and three Democrats – sent a letter to President Obama, writing: “In the wake of a ceasefire agreement that appears only to have consolidated Russian and separatist gains since the first Minsk agreement, we urge you to quickly approve additional efforts to support Ukraine’s efforts to defend its sovereign territory, including through the transfer of lethal, defensive weapons systems to the Ukrainian military.” The signatories were: Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio); House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.); Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas); Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.); Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.); Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.); and State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas).
Also on March 4, during a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the topic “Ukraine Under Siege,” Helsinki Commission Chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) took the Obama administration to task for its delay in providing defensive military assistance to Ukraine. “We have a de facto defensive weapons arms embargo on Ukraine … Delay is denial. People are dying,” Rep. Smith said. “Over 6,000 are dead. Many of these are children and women.” He continued, “[The Ukrainians] need us …they told me off-the-record how profoundly disappointed they are in President Obama, especially in light of people around him saying, ‘Please, Mr. President, this is a time for American leadership.’ When will the decision [to provide defensive military assistance] be made? …They need defensive weapons and they need them now.”
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 10 called into session two panels to hear testimony on President Obama’s policy toward Ukraine, sparked by the president’s statement in diplomatic channels in February that his administration will not offer military assistance to Ukraine. In his opening remarks, the committee’s chairman Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) emphasized that “the provision of lethal assistance aims to increase Ukraine’s defense capabilities in a way that will give Kyiv the ability to produce conditions on the ground favorable to a genuine peace process. By equipping Ukraine with the means to impose a greater military cost on Russia, the United States will be contributing to a quicker, fairer and more stable settlement of the conflict.” The hearing featured some heated questioning by the senators of administration officials, who were asked such questions as: Why has the administration not fully implemented the Ukraine Freedom Support Act? When will the administration realize that Minsk II has failed? Why has the U.S. not fulfilled its obligations to Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum? Why should there be any hope for peace knowing Mr. Putin’s record?
The Atlantic Council on March 6 hosted a presentation and discussion on “Human Rights Abuses in Russian-Occupied Crimea” that featured an extensive report by Andrii Klymenko, chief editor of the Black Sea News and chairman of the supervisory board for Maidan Foreign Affairs. Mr. Klymenko detailed Russia’s tactics in Crimea, including: imposing Russian citizenship and forcing residents to renounce Ukrainian citizenship; expelling people deemed to be disloyal; violating the rights of the Crimean Tatars; creating an information ghetto; and expropriating Ukrainian state property.
Yaro Bihun
With Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko standing beside him in front of the International Monetary Fund headquarters building, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk recounts the Ukrainian military and economic issues discussed during their three days of talks in Washington.
On March 16, Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, delivered a press statement on the “one-year anniversary of the sham ‘referendum’ in Crimea, held in clear violation of Ukrainian law and the Ukrainian Constitution.” She said the vote was “not voluntary, transparent or democratic,” and underscored: “We do not, nor will we, recognize Russia’s attempted annexation and call on President Putin to end his country’s occupation of Crimea. … This week, as Russia attempts to validate its cynical and calculated ‘liberation’ of Crimea, we reaffirm that sanctions related to Crimea will remain in place as long as the occupation continues. The United States continues to support Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to self-determination.”