U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden gets a standing ovation while addressing the Verkhovna Rada on December 8.
Supporters of Ukraine thought they had won a great victory at the end of 2014 with the passage and the signing of the Ukraine Freedom Support Act; they thought the U.S. would indeed provide Ukraine with the lethal weapons it needed to defend itself from Russian aggression. But that struggle continued in 2015, as the Obama administration continued to rely on sanctions against Russia and non-lethal aid to Ukraine despite the existential threat to this strategic ally of the U.S.
Probably the biggest news in U.S.-Ukraine relations came on December 6-8, when Vice-President Joe Biden visited Ukraine – his fifth trip as vice-president and his fourth since the Euro-Maidan – to reassure Kyiv that the U.S. stands with the people of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. Those who watched the vice-president’s address, or a video of it posted on YouTube, knew that his words of concern about Ukraine’s people and the nation’s future were sincere. He modulated his delivery from a booming voice to a soft whisper-like tone, expressing the unacceptability of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and appealing to Ukraine leaders to do what’s right and “build a better future for the people of Ukraine.”
The first news of the year about the U.S.-Ukraine relationship came with the State of the Union address on January 20, in which President Barack Obama mentioned Russian aggression in Ukraine. He stated: “… we are demonstrating the power of American strength and diplomacy. We’re upholding the principle that bigger nations can’t bully the small – by opposing Russian aggression, supporting Ukraine’s democracy, and reassuring our NATO allies. Last year, as we were doing the hard work of imposing sanctions along with our allies, some suggested that Mr. Putin’s aggression was a masterful display of strategy and strength. Well, today, it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated, with its economy in tatters.”
But there were many who thought those boastful words were not borne out by reality. Furthermore, the address made no mention of providing concrete help for Ukraine to counter the Russian invasion of its territory.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on January 14 released a statement regarding the importance of implementing the Ukraine Freedom Support Act. “Russian-supplied proxies in eastern Ukraine continue to cause havoc on the lives of innocent people in the region, as well as impede prospects for regional peace. …These most recent attacks by Russian-supported forces serve as further proof that the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, which passed Congress unanimously and was signed into law in December, must be fully implemented. The legislation requires the president to impose sanctions on Russia’s defense sector, and authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Russia’s energy and financial sectors. It also authorizes increased military and non-military assistance for Ukraine,” Sen. Menendez stated. “I urge the administration to fully implement this legislation to demonstrate through verifiable action our fight against President [Vladimir] Putin’s upending of the international order, and to create the conditions for a more democratic and peaceful Ukraine.”
During the congressional delegation’s meeting with Ukraine’s president and ministers (from left) are: U.S. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, Rep. Steve Womack, Rep. Steve Israel, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Rep. Kay Granger, President Petro Poroshenko, Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, Rep. John Carter, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Rep. Pete Visclosky, Rep. Ken Calvert, Minister of Finance Natalie Jaresko and Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
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.”
The House of Representatives on March 23 overwhelmingly passed House Resolution 162 “calling on the president to provide Ukraine with military assistance to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The vote was 348 for and 48 against. The measure resolved that “the House of Representatives strongly urges the president to fully and immediately exercise the authorities provided by Congress to provide Ukraine with lethal defensive weapon systems to enhance the ability of the people of Ukraine to defend their sovereign territory from the unprovoked and continuing aggression of the Russian Federation The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Engel and had 12 cosponsors.
Keeping up the pressure on President Obama and his administration was a March 24 letter from the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Defense, in which Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) wrote: “First, you should designate Ukraine as a Major Non-NATO Ally. Second, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2015 contains $175 million within the European Reassurance Initiative Fund specifically to provide aid to Ukraine and the Baltic states. We request that a substantial amount of funding be reprogrammed to that fund thereby increasing the amount of funding available for assistance.”
Reps. Frelinghuysen and Visclosky, along with six other members of the Defense Subcommittee, had recently returned from a bipartisan fact-finding trip to Kyiv, where they met with President Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak to discuss ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. Delegation members told President Obama that the situation in Ukraine is “alarming”: “As you are aware, President Putin is using Ukraine as a test bed for a new type of warfare by using state-sponsored insurgents to carry out his campaign. The Russians are clearly managing the command and control of the insurgency and have invaded Ukraine using the façade of this insurgency for plausible deniability. Additionally, Russia is overwhelmingly winning the communication battle in Europe and Ukraine itself and is showing success in dividing Ukraine’s neighbors.”
On April 30, there was yet more information, and confirmation, that Russia was directing the “rebels” in Ukraine. The Associated Press reported that U.S. officials briefed on intelligence from the region said Russia had significantly deepened its command and control of separatist forces in recent months. That led the U.S. to quietly introduce a new term, “combined Russian-separatist forces,” with the State Department using the expression three times in a single statement lambasting them for a series of ceasefire violations.
On May 27, the U.S. announced $18 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance to help those affected by Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. The funds from the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration were to support the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Population Fund to meet the most critical protection and assistance needs of persons affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, including the provision of food, hygiene items, medical supplies, and essential household items such as blankets, plastic sheeting and construction materials to repair homes.
An important report on the extent of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine was released by the Atlantic Council on May 28. Titled “Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin’s War in Ukraine,” it drew on open source material and used social media posts to track the movement of Russian soldiers and equipment across the border into Ukraine. “There would be no conflict in Ukraine today but for Putin’s strategy to provoke one,” said Damon Wilson, the Atlantic Council’s executive vice-president of programs and strategy, and one of the report’s five co-authors. “We don’t have a Ukraine problem, we have a Putin problem.” The 36-page report said satellite images confirmed the movement of Russian troops and camp build-ups along the Ukrainian border, and that Russia was sending soldiers and military equipment from these “staging grounds” into Ukraine. The report further asserted that Russian commanders order their troops to conceal the identifying features of military vehicles and remove insignia from their uniforms before joining separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Atlantic Council
At the launch of the Atlantic Council’s report “Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin’s War in Ukraine” and the release of the English version of “Putin. War”: (from left) Susan Glasser, editor of Politico and moderator of the discussion; Ilya Yashin, a leader of the pro-democracy Republican Party of Russia-People’s Freedom Party; Damon Wilson, executive vice-president at the Atlantic Council; Sergey Aleksashenko, a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; and Ambassador John Herbst, director of the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center.
On September 30, the United States announced an additional $7.5 million in life-saving humanitarian assistance for those affected by the conflict in Ukraine, bringing total U.S. humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of the crisis to nearly $69 million. The funding was to support efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross to meet critical protection and assistance needs, including by supporting family reunification efforts and providing food, hygiene items, medical supplies, emergency shelter material and essential household items such as blankets. The U.S. also reiterated its call for full and unfettered access to ensure humanitarian relief can reach civilians in need.
On October 16 the U.S. announced nearly $15 million in additional humanitarian assistance through U.S. Agency for International Aid Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance. The funds were for emergency shelter assistance to help more than 35,000 people get through the upcoming winter and to provide safe drinking water and support hygiene and sanitation programs to stem the spread of disease. The assistance was meant also to provide employment opportunities to get people and businesses back on their feet and help households replace lost assets.
On November 14 the United States delivered two AN/TPQ-36 radar systems to Ukraine at a ceremony in Yavoriv, Lviv Oblast. President Poroshenko had the opportunity to review the equipment and was briefed by U.S. military personnel on its capabilities. The U.S. Embassy Kyiv pointed out that the radar systems will help defend Ukrainian military personnel and civilians against rocket and artillery attacks, the most lethal threat to Ukrainian personnel and civilians. The equipment was delivered on a rapid timeline – less than two months after President Obama delegated to the secretary of state the authority to draw down up to $20 million in defense articles and services and up to $1.5 million in non-lethal commodities and services to provide these systems to Ukraine. The provision of these systems brought total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine in response to the crisis to more than $265 million since 2014.
U.S. Embassy Kyiv
The scene at the airport in Yavoriv, where the U.S. delivered two counter-battery radar systems to Ukraine to bolster the country’s defense and internal security operations.
Toward the end of the year, on November 25, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, which authorized, among other things, $300 million in assistance for Ukrainian forces fighting Russian-backed militants, including $50 million for defensive lethal assistance and counter-artillery radars. “We welcome this important decision that has demonstrated unity in the positions of the U.S. administration and Congress in support of Ukraine in countering Russian military aggression,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its statement.
The U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, held a briefing on “Human Rights Violations in Russian-Occupied Crimea” on December 12, 2015. The discussion featured a panel of activists who are working to keep the world’s attention focused on the troubling human rights dimensions of Crimea’s illegal annexation by Russia. Orest Deychakiwsky, a policy advisor at the Helsinki Commission who chaired the briefing, in his opening remarks emphasized: “Russia’s forcible and illegal occupation of Ukraine’s sovereign territory of Crimea in March 2014 resulted in a deplorable human rights situation and other serious consequences that continue to this day. Changes in government and the legal framework in Crimea following the attempted annexation have had a toxic impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms. Violations of civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights are widespread, especially against those who oppose the Russian occupation, including Crimean Tatars and other ethnic, political and religious groups.” Mr. Deychakiwsky pointed out that Russia’s takeover of Crimea was not internationally recognized and “both the [U.S.] administration and Congress have addressed the Russian occupation of Crimea in various ways, including through legislation and through concrete sanctions against Russia, including Crimea-specific sanctions.”
In an effort to address the international legal obligations of Russia as an occupying power in Crimea, a group of experts, researchers and activists released a report titled “Human Rights on Occupied Territory: Case of Crimea.” Published by the VOLYA Institute for Contemporary Law and Society and the Ukrainian American organization Razom, the report emphasized that “according to the international law on occupation, the Russian Federation as an occupying power is obliged to ensure that everyone is treated humanely and without discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or any other basis.” Testimony at the Helsinki Commission was provided by Ivanna Bilych, a New York attorney and one of the co-authors of the report; Bohdan Yaremenko, a leader of the Ukrainian NGO Maidan of Foreign Affairs and a former diplomat; Andriy Klymenko, chief editor of Black Sea News and a prominent economist, originally from Crimea; and Yuriy Yatsenko, an activist of the Revolution of Dignity who was illegally imprisoned in Russia on political grounds in May 2014, suffering brutal torture and criminal prosecution.
Yaroslav Brisiuck, the deputy chief of mission of the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., thanked the Helsinki Commission for holding the briefing: “There’s nothing more important to Ukraine, to the government, to civil society, the NGOs, to all citizens of Ukraine than stopping Russian aggression, the continued occupation of Crimea and egregious human rights abuses. We must not allow this topic to fall off the radar and be out-shadowed by other crises of today.”
U.S. officials visit Ukraine
During the year, there were a number of visits by U.S. officials to Ukraine. Among them were the following.
House of Representatives Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frelinghuysen led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Ukraine that met on March 11 with President Poroshenko. Delegation members were: Reps. Granger, Visclosky, Kaptur, John Carter (R-Texas), Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.). The delegation met with President Poroshenko and members of his Cabinet. Discussions centered on the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. The delegation discussed further U.S. military and economic support for Ukraine as it fights Russia-backed separatists and Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine. President Poroshenko told the members of Congress that the Ukrainian nation is paying a high price for freedom and independence, and that Ukrainian warriors are demonstrating heroism and courage while defending peace in Europe. “Every Ukrainian understands that we are struggling for freedom and democracy of the entire European continent and, probably, the entire world,” he said.
Rep. Frelinghuysen later noted in a message to constituents: “The people and the government of Ukraine deserve praise for their courageous defense of their independence and sovereignty in the face of brutal attacks by Russian-armed separatists and Russian soldiers. This violence continues even after the Minsk ‘ceasefire’ went into effect. In anticipation of further Russian efforts to destabilize Ukraine and seize additional territory, I believe the United States should approve additional measures to help Ukraine defend its sovereign territory, including the transfer of lethal, defensive weapons systems to the Ukrainian military.”
Sen. McCain, speaking on June 20 at a joint press briefing in Kyiv with Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Barrasso, said the U.S. must lead the free world in countering Russia’s naked aggression against Ukraine and must urgently provide Ukraine with defensive weapons, intelligence and any necessary assistance. “We will urge President Barack Obama to implement the will of the Congress and that of the American people,” he said, arguing that the current reluctant support of Ukraine by the United States and Europe is “shameful and disgraceful.” The delegation of U.S. senators took part in a series of meetings with Ukrainian leaders, including the president and prime minister, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and members of a congressional delegation on August 5 visited the Maidan, where they placed flowers on a memorial for the Heavenly Brigade. During their visit to Ukraine’s capital they also met with President Petro Poroshenko and other leaders. Members of the delegation, all Democrats, were Reps. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Anna Eshoo of California, Chellie Pingree of Maine, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Cedric Richmond of Louisiana and Marc Veasey of Texas. A release from the Democratic minority leader’s office noted that the congressional delegation was focused on national, economic and energy security. “It is with great humility that our delegation comes to Maidan. We observed from afar the courage, the self-determination of the people of Ukraine to have a more democratic, open, transparent society. So, we come in solidarity with them. We come in sympathy for those who lost their lives speaking out for freedom. We come with great sadness, great sadness as to how this could possibly happen. We come with great respect for the Revolution of Dignity,” Rep. Pelosi said.
kmu.ua.gov
U.S. Vice-President Joseph Biden in a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk of Ukraine.
In early December, Vice-President Biden visited Kyiv. “If Russian aggression persists, the cost imposed on Moscow will continue to rise,” Mr. Biden said on December 8 in a rare appearance by a top Western official before the Verkhovna Rada. “The U.S. will maintain pressure until Moscow fulfills its [peace deal] commitments,” he said, and “there can be no sanctions relief unless until Russia meets all of its commitments under the Minsk agreement.” Russia “is occupying sovereign Ukrainian territory” in Crimea and has violated international law by illegally seizing the Ukrainian peninsula. “The United States will never recognize” Russia’s annexation of Crimea, he underscored.
RFE/RL reported that the vice-president also told the national deputies they have “an obligation to their homeland to answer the call of history” and build a united democratic nation. “It is no exaggeration to say the hopes of freedom-loving people the world over are with you, because so much rides on your fragile experiment with democracy succeeding,” Mr. Biden said. He noted that each national deputy will be judged by future generations upon whether they put the greater good of all Ukrainian people over local interests that have divided the country. He urged Ukraine to make painful but crucial reforms to make governance more transparent, noting that “corruption eats Ukraine like cancer.” The U.S. vice-president also said elected officials must remove conflicts of interest with their private business interests – words possibly aimed at the Ukrainian president. After his meting with Mr. Poroshenko, the vice-president commented: “Ukraine is on the cusp – what happens in the next year is likely to determine the fate of the country for generations.”
In conjunction with Mr. Biden’s visit, the White House, Office of the Vice-President, announced that, “pending consultation with Congress, the White House plans to commit approximately $190 million in new assistance to support Ukraine’s ambitious reform agenda.” The assistance package aimed to help Ukraine: elevate the fight against corruption through law enforcement and justice sector reform; attract investment by streamlining regulations and transparently privatizing state-owned enterprises; promote economic growth through better trade capacity and access to capital for small- and medium-size enterprises; strengthen energy security by increasing efficiency, transparency and resilience in the energy sector; and build a long-term democratic foundation through constitutional and good-governance reforms in key sectors
The fact sheet released by the White House pointed out: “With this announcement, the United States now has committed $2 billion in loan guarantees and nearly $760 million in security, programmatic and technical assistance to Ukraine since the end of the Yanukovych regime in 2014. The proceeds of U.S. loan guarantees have helped Ukraine to stabilize its economy and protect the most vulnerable households from the impact of needed economic adjustments. The administration will continue to work with Congress and its international partners to support Ukraine as it defends its sovereignty, stabilizes its economy and advances its reform agenda.”
Ukrainian officials visit D.C.
During 2015, there were many visits to the United States of officials from Ukraine.
During a four-day visit to Washington in late January, Ukraine’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vadym Prystayko expressed his optimism that the military and economic aid Ukraine needs to survive its current military and economic crises would soon be forthcoming from the United States, Europe and major international organizations. Speaking with journalists at the Embassy of Ukraine on January 30, at the conclusion of his visit, Mr. Prystayko said he had discussed the situation in Ukraine and the assistance it needs with U.S. officials at the White House and State Department, and at the Atlantic Council and other think tanks. As a result, he said, it was his understanding that the Obama administration will soon come to an agreement with Congress. Military aid is uppermost on Ukraine’s needs list, he said, but an estimated $15 billion financial aid package to help stabilize Ukraine’s currency and balance its budget is also important, he said.
Mr. Prystayko presented Ukraine’s position during a daylong conference at the Atlantic Council on developing a trans-Atlantic strategy for the Europe’s East. Two days later, that think tank joined with The Brookings Institution and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs in presenting a report on “Preserving Ukraine’s Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do,” authored by eight foreign policy experts, including two former U.S. ambassadors to Ukraine – Steven Pifer and John Herbst – who underscored three recommendations: The White House and Congress should commit serious funds to upgrade Ukraine’s defense capabilities, specifically providing $1 billion in military assistance this year, followed by an additional $1 billion each in the next two fiscal years. The U.S. government should alter its policy and begin providing lethal assistance to Ukraine’s military. The U.S. government should approach other NATO countries about also providing military assistance to Ukraine.
The vice-chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Andriy Parubiy, came to Washington during the last week of February in an effort to convince the United States to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with lethal and defensive weapons. During his three-day visit on February 24-26, he presented his government’s case in meetings on Capitol Hill with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman McCain, Speaker of the House Boehner and members of the Senate and House Ukrainian caucuses. He also met with Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland and senior officials at the Defense Department and National Security Council, as well as with other leading Washington foreign policy experts. During a brief news conference at the Embassy of Ukraine, Mr. Parubiy stated: “Ukraine has to ascertain: are we alone or not alone. We have to find out if the country that guaranteed our security in the Budapest Memorandum is willing to back Ukraine at this difficult moment.” Ukraine needs arms assistance now, Mr. Parubiy underscored, adding that he brought with him a list of the lethal and nonlethal weapons Ukraine’s armed forces need, agreed upon by the ministries of defense and foreign affairs, and other Ukrainian government institutions.
Ukraine’s new minister of finance, Natalie Jaresko, came to Washington on March 16-17, seeking U.S. assistance in helping to get her country’s economy working normally during very difficult and uncertain times for Ukraine. The American-born minister discussed her government’s needs and plans for recovery with senior officials of the White House, the Treasury and State departments and congressmen, and later talked about them in a packed conference room at the Brookings Institution, a leading Washington think tank. Seventy years of communism, and 23 years of incomplete economic reforms, mismanagement, corruption by previous regimes, she said, “has left the country in a complex and difficult economic situation.” Ukraine’s economy and industrial output had gone down by 20 percent in 2014 and the hryvnia had depreciated by 70 percent, pushing the public sector debt to “very dangerous levels.” Ukraine is very thankful to the United States for the assistance it has provided so far, Ms. Jaresko said, but it needs additional support, in the form of financial and humanitarian assistance, military equipment “to put an end to this conflict,” and sanctions against Russia if the peace agreements are not fully implemented. “But what’s most important, from my perspective, is that we win the war of creating a reformed market economy – strong and capable – that can lead Ukraine forward,” she said.
A follow-up to that visit came in mid-April, when three top Ukrainian government officials in charge of improving their country’s economy and its international economic relations spent four days in Washington, meeting with leaders of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as officials at the U.S. Department of Commerce, to discuss Ukraine’s current financial-economic situation, its progress in reforming the economy and plans for additional reforms in the future. Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius noted at the conclusion of the visit that they were returning to Kyiv satisfied with the results. “Ukraine is high on everybody’s agenda these days,” he told members of the press at the Embassy of Ukraine on April 20. “There is a clear support for our government and our Parliament in Washington among the American politicians, businesspeople and bankers, and also among the international community.” Minister Abromavicius was accompanied to the Washington meetings by Finance Minister Jaresko and the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, Valeriya Hontaryeva.
Four Ukrainian national deputies from the civil society movement and the Euro-Maidan Revolution of Dignity, joined by officials from Ukrainian government agencies and think tanks, brought their message of determination and hope to the Obama administration, Congress and academic and research centers in the U.S. capital during the week of April 21. The delegation included National Deputies Victor Galasiuk, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Oleksiy Skrypnyk and Oleksandr Dubinin, who represented three new political parties in Parliament, the Poroshenko Bloc, Self-Reliance Party and Radical Party, that belong to the majority coalition. Also part of the delegation were: Taras Oliinyk, first deputy head of the State Agency for E-Governance in Ukraine; Oleksiy Gridin, advisor to the Minister of Defense; Maj. Yuriy Moshkavets (ret.), director of the Center for Military Reform; and Anatoli Pinchuk, president of Ukraine Strategy, a Kyiv-based think tank.
In May, President Obama criticized Russia’s “increasingly aggressive” stance on Ukraine, as a result of which more than 6,100 people had been killed since April 2014. Speaking after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on May 26, Mr. Obama said, “We had a chance to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the increasingly aggressive posture that Russia has taken.” He urged Russia to “stop supporting separatists and to withdraw all its forces from eastern Ukraine,” which continued to be embroiled in sporadic fighting despite the Minsk ceasefire agreement signed in February.
Prime Minister Yatsenyuk came to the U.S. capital on June 8-10 for talks about the crisis in Ukraine caused by Russia’s invasion; he met with U.S. government officials, congressional leaders, the International Monetary Fund and influential American organizations. The prime minister’s tight schedule included a surprise White House meeting with Vice-President Biden, who had just returned from his son’s funeral in Delaware. Mr. Yatsenyuk said he and Finance Minister Jaresko, who had also traveled to Washington, had some 30 meetings. “And the level of support expressed by the U.S. vice-president, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the secretaries of the Treasury and Commerce – in other words, the American establishment – was unprecedented,” he said. The prime minister did not mince words in describing Ukraine’s major problem: “We are facing a real war with Russia,” he said in his address at the AJC (American Jewish Council) Global Forum 2015. “Ukraine is the only country in the world that is fighting against the Russian regular army.” The prime minister pointed out that, in so doing, “Ukraine is defending not only Ukraine. We are defending Europe and we are defending international law and order.”
Mr. Yatsenyuk was back in Washington with his delegation on July 13, for a meeting at the White House with Vice-President Biden. President Obama dropped by the meeting, expressing the U.S. government’s “unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Earlier that day Messrs. Biden and Yatsenyuk had both participated in the U.S.-Ukraine Business Forum, organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a large gathering of government officials and business leaders focused on improving Ukraine’s economic situation and its relations with the U.S. and the West.
According to a White House statement released after the meeting, the president and vice-president also “underscored the U.S. commitment to maintaining sanctions on Russia until it fully implements its obligations under the Minsk agreements,” which are intended to resolve Ukraine’s conflict with the Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern regions. President Obama and Vice- President Biden commended the Ukrainian government for the steps it has taken to implement its obligations under the agreements, including the submission to Ukraine’s Parliament of “draft constitutional amendments on decentralization.”
Concern about Nadiya Savchenko
There was much concern about the fate of Ms. Savchenko.
Reps. Levin, Kaptur, Fitzpatrick, Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) – all members of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus – on January 26 introduced a bipartisan resolution calling for her release. “We continue to call on Russian authorities to immediately release Nadiya Savchenko from custody. We are gravely concerned by reports of her ill health since the commencement of a hunger strike on December 14, 2014, now into its seventh week. We are equally troubled by Ms. Savchenko’s lack of access to her counsel and adequate medical attention. We demand that Russia abide by its international obligations and the rule of law, and we join the United States Department of State in calling for Nadiya Savchenko’s immediate release,” said Rep. Levin, co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus.
On February 12, a Senate resolution calling for the release of Ms. Savchenko was passed by unanimous consent. S. Res. 52, introduced on January 28, was sponsored by Helsinki Commission Senate Ranking Member Cardin, with Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rodger Wicker (R-Miss.) as original co-sponsor. Other co-sponsors were Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Marco Rubio (R- Fla.) Observers noted that the resolution was passed within two weeks of its introduction, testifying to the concern over Lt. Savchenko’s dire situation.
The resolution condemned the government of the Russian Federation for its illegal imprisonment of Lt. Savchenko; called on Russia to immediately release her; called on the United States, its European allies and the international community to aggressively support diplomatic efforts to release Lt. Savchenko; and expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people.” The resolution pointed out: “Nadiya Savchenko is the first-ever female fighter pilot in Ukraine’s armed forces and is an Iraqi war veteran.”
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki on February 25 said the U.S. was “deeply concerned by today’s decision by a Russian court to continue the detention of Ukrainian Member of Parliament Nadiya Savchenko to May 13. … The United States deplores her continued ill-treatment and is deeply concerned by reports of her deteriorating health.” The U.S. called Russia’s detention and treatment of Lt. Savchenko “unacceptable” and called for her immediate release.
As Russian authorities repeatedly extended the pre-trial detention of the Ukrainian pilot, the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus yet again raised the Savchenko case, this time urging the co-chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (formerly known as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus), to support her release. In their June 9 letter to the commission, Reps. Levin, Fitzpatrick, Kaptur and Pascrell wrote: “Since her capture and detention in July 2014, we have been concerned about her deteriorating condition. Savchenko has been subjected to psychiatric evaluations, solitary confinement and callous treatment by Russian authorities. She also did not receive adequate medical care, especially since her commencement of hunger strikes to protest the terms of her detention. We urge the commission to support Nadiya Savchenko’s release and facilitate passage of H. Res. 50.”
The House resolution, which was similar to the Senate resolution on the Savchenko case, was finally passed by the House of Representatives on September 22.
Noted on the presidential campaign trail
During a campaign stop at a town hall in New Hampshire on August 12, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. president, said the United States should be aiding Ukraine against Russian aggression. “For the life of me, I cannot understand why we are not giving the Ukrainians [the ability] to defend themselves against Putin and the Russians,” Gov. Kasich said. He explained that the Ukrainians should get the help they deserve. “They’ve been through hell over the course of their existence, and we’ve got to let them fight for themselves.”
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Donald Trump responded with blunt indifference to Ukraine’s possible membership in NATO. “I wouldn’t care. If [Ukraine] goes in, great. If it doesn’t go in, great,” Mr. Trump said in an interview with NBC on August 16. Mr. Trump also said that Europe should bear the brunt of the responsibility for standing up to Russia in the Ukraine conflict. “I don’t like what’s happening with Ukraine. But that’s really a problem that affects Europe a lot more than it affects us. And they should be leading some of this charge,” he said. At an August 14 campaign event, Mr. Trump said U.S.-Russian ties have become “pretty well-destroyed” under President Obama and that if elected, he “would have a great relationship with Russia and Putin.” Asked whether he would roll back sanctions against Russia, Mr. Trump said: “It depends, depends. They have to behave also.”
On the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day, two Republican candidates for the presidential nomination released statements.
Gov. Kasich’s message stated, in part: “The repeated violations of the Minsk ceasefire protocols must stop, efforts to erode the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine must stop, and Crimea and Donbas must be returned to Ukraine. …the United States must do everything in its power to provide Ukraine with the means to defend itself. Congress gave the president the authority to help arm Ukraine – by large bipartisan majorities – but its requests to the U.S. for help have been denied. The Obama administration has even gone a step further and prohibited the sale of the defensive weapons systems Ukraine urgently needs. This must stop and we must help Ukraine protect its independence. That means providing the anti-tank, anti-aircraft and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance systems it needs.”
In his message, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, said: “After 24 years of independence, I want to pledge unwavering support for an independent, sovereign and democratic Ukraine. Unfortunately, after unchecked Russian aggression and a lack of leadership under the Obama-Clinton foreign policy, Ukraine’s future remains unclear. Last week, Russian-backed separatists shelled civilians in eastern Ukraine, and rebel leaders declared they were preparing for a full-fledged war. As I said during the first debate earlier this month, America must provide Ukraine with the lethal military assistance needed to defend itself against Vladimir Putin’s power grab in the region.” Mr. Walker suspended his campaign in September.
Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state who is a leading contender to be the next president, called for a stronger response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Syria, saying Moscow’s objectives were “to stymie, to confront and to undermine American power whenever and wherever.” In thinly veiled criticism of the Obama administration’s current approach to Russia, Ms. Clinton said that Washington should be doing more in response to Russia’s interference in Ukraine. “I have been, I remain convinced that we need a concerted effort to really up the costs on Russia and in particular on Putin. I think we have not done enough,” she said following a speech on September 9 at the Brookings Institution. “I am in the category of people who wanted us to do more in response to the annexation of Crimea and the continuing destabilization of Ukraine,” she noted. “We can’t dance around it anymore. We all wish it would go away.”
In other news…
On April 14, President Poroshenko dismissed Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oleksandr Motsyk, who had served in that post since June 2010, when he was appointed by then-President Viktor Yanukovych. Ukrainian news media speculated that his replacement in Washington would be Valeriy Chaly, deputy head of the Presidential Administration. Two days later, the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council hosted a farewell dinner for Ambassador Motsyk attended by more than 70 representatives of the U.S. government, prominent corporations, Washington think tanks and Ukrainian American organizations. Before the new envoy arrived, the Embassy of Ukraine was led by Chargé d’Affaires Yaroslav Brisiuck.
Finally, on August 3, Mr. Chaly presented his letters of credence as Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. to President Obama. Ambassador Chaly confirmed the invitation extended to President Obama by President Poroshenko to visit Ukraine. Mr. Obama said that relations between the U.S. and Ukraine today are stronger than ever and reaffirmed that the U.S. remains committed to supporting Ukrainian people.
American Peace Corps volunteers returned to Ukraine on May 20 following a program suspension of more than one year due to the conflict in the east. Seven volunteers were the first of what is expected to be a steady stream of new volunteers arriving in the coming months. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv noted that enthusiastic government and NGO partners lobbied for the resumption of the program at this unique time in Ukraine’s history when American know-how is especially welcomed. More than 2,500 Americans have volunteered in Ukraine since 1992, when the program opened.
U.S.Embassy/Kyiv
Peace Corps volunteers arrive in Ukraine.
The U.S. State Department on December 14 issued a warning on travel to Crimea and the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. The warning stated, in part: “The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer all travel to Crimea and the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and recommends those U.S. citizens currently living in or visiting these regions to depart. …Russia-backed separatists continue to control areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, where violent clashes have resulted in over 9,000 deaths. … There have been multiple casualties due to land mines in areas previously controlled by separatists, and separatist leaders have made statements indicating their desire to push the front line to the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Individuals, including U.S. citizens, have been threatened, detained or kidnapped for hours or days after being stopped at separatist checkpoints. …The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly. U.S. citizens throughout Ukraine should avoid large crowds and be prepared to remain indoors should protests or demonstrations escalate. …”