The statement below was released by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America on July 31.
Since our founding in 1940, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the nation’s largest representation of Ukrainians in America, has supported to the fullest extent a national policy designed to “make America strong in power” and “resolute in its foreign relations.” As in previous election years, and in accordance with the stated mission of the UCCA, our executive board met this year with both Republican and Democratic campaigns in advance of November’s election, informing the candidates and their advisors about the concerns of our constituents.
In early June, members of the UCCA Executive Board met with the co-chair and policy advisor for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, Sam Clovis, for an extended discussion about stated and unstated policy goals of a Trump administration. At that meeting, Mr. Clovis made clear that the Trump campaign understood the dangers posed by Vladimir Putin’s revanchist actions, that the current administration had not done enough to meet this challenge head on, and that under a Trump administration there would be “no limit” to the arms and other military assistance that would be sent to Ukraine. We were also assured that the Trump campaign supports the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and, most notably, does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Since our meeting with Mr. Clovis, Mr. Trump’s public statements have steadily revealed a different foreign policy outlook than that painted by Mr. Clovis and a callous disregard for not only international norms, but also the historic role that America has played in defending the ideals of freedom and democracy. Mr. Trump’s suggestion that Russia hack Hillary Clinton’s e-mail server is not an example of a “strong America” policy, nor would ceding America’s long-established foreign policy positions to a dictator whose military is involved in over eight different conflict zones along his border.
In case Mr. Trump is confused about whether Russia has already invaded Ukraine, there are nearly 2 million internally displaced people within Ukraine, making it the site of Europe’s largest internal refugee crisis since World War II. To imply otherwise, would be preposterous and shocking to say the least, and in direct contradiction with the GOP platform, which calls for meeting the “return of Russian belligerence” with the same resolve that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It should come as no surprise that the UCCA rejects Russia’s March 2014 staged plebiscite in Crimea, just as the international community, including the Republican Party, rejects Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said this week, “The United States must never recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and should not reward aggression by lifting sanctions.”
Russia’s military invasion and current illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory has shed Ukrainian blood from day one, while journalists, activists and community leaders who support Ukraine’s territorial integrity continue to “disappear” from their native land.
In the words of Ambassador Samantha Power, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, “Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea is not a one-time violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, but rather represents an ongoing, continuous violation, one that persists for every day that Russia continues to occupy the peninsula.”
The UCCA calls on Mr. Trump to actually listen to and heed the advice of senior Republican foreign policy analysts, and recognize that the United States must take the lead in promoting international norms and consolidating geopolitical stability. The United States, as a signatory to the 1994 Trilateral Agreement, has an obligation to assist Ukraine in defense of its national security and territorial integrity, and in its efforts to institutionalize democratic and economic reforms. The national security interests of the United States lie in the fulfillment of that obligation and constitute the very foundation upon which the existing relationship between sovereign nations rest.
Today, the Ukrainian people are standing courageously in defense of their hard-won freedom. With American support, a democratic, independent Ukraine can remain a keystone of freedom in the region and an important trans-Atlantic security partner. Ukrainians stand on the front line of defense for Europe, America and the world. America, united, needs to stand with them.