Whereas, On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched an unprovoked, unjustified, and intolerable military assault on the nation of Ukraine. While Russia has violated Ukraine’s sovereign territory for years, illegally annexing Crimea in 2014 and militarily invading Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, the decision to engage in a protracted, full-scale military assault on Ukraine is a violation of international law and human decency. The invasion of Ukraine has resulted in at least 8,006 civilian deaths and over 13,200 injuries. Russia’s criminal war has created 8 million refugees – Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes to seek sanctuary in other parts of Europe and around the world – and nearly 5.9 million internally displaced people. The illegal and brutal assault on Ukraine, continues to this day and is a crime against humanity, with unceasing Russian attacks against innocent Ukrainian civilian populations and critical infrastructure, leaving people without shelter, heat, and water. The United Nations estimates that 17.6 million people in Ukraine, nearly half the population currently living in the country, will need humanitarian assistance this year; and
Whereas, The Russian Federation and its agents have engaged in the most heinous war crimes in Ukraine, including torturing, raping, and executing non-combatant civilians in contravention of the basic tenets of international law and forcibly relocating tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children to facilities far from their homes, severing communication with their families, and attempting to “re-educate” them to believe Russian propaganda and lies. These gravest violations of international humanitarian law can never be tolerated; and
Whereas, The President of the United States and the national legislatures of Poland, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Republic of Ireland, alongside numerous respected institutions and scholars of genocide, have recognized the genocidal intent of the Russian Federation’s illegal actions in Ukraine; and
Whereas, Members of minority communities in Ukraine have faced disproportionate hardship as a result of Russia’s illegal war, including LGBTQ+ Ukrainians, Ukrainian Jews, and black Ukrainians. Even before the 2022 invasion, Russian occupying authorities repressed Tatars and other religious minorities in occupied Crimea; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body honor the courage of the Ukrainian people.
Co-sponsored by Reps.
Adopted in the House by voice vote
