H. Res. 726 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

September 17, 2014. 

Whereas the United States is strongly committed to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of 

Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States strongly supports the right of the 

people of Ukraine to freely determine their future, including their country’s relationship with other nations and 

international organizations, without interference, intimidation, or coercion by other countries; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has undertaken a campaign 

of political, economic, and military aggression against 

Ukraine; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s forcible occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea, its continuing support for 

separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine, 

and its invasion of and military operations on Ukrainian 

territory represent gross violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and a 

violation of international law, including the Russian Federation’s obligations under the United Nations Charter 

and its commitments as a participating State of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; 
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Whereas the Government of Ukraine continues to exercise extraordinary restraint in response to the invasion of its 

territory by several thousand military personnel of the 

Russian Federation, who are engaged in offensive military operations in support of separatist forces, the illegal 

occupation and annexation of Crimea, and the tens of 

thousands of Russian Federation military personnel positioned offensively on the Ukrainian-Russian border since 

March 2014; 

Whereas the forcible occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation and its continuing support for separatist and paramilitary forces in eastern 

Ukraine are violations of its obligations under the 1994 

Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, in which 

it pledged to respect the independence and sovereignty 

and the existing borders of Ukraine and to refrain from 

the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity 

or political independence of Ukraine; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has provided military equipment, training, and other assistance to separatist and 

paramilitary forces in eastern Ukraine that has resulted 

in ongoing conflict that is responsible for over 3,000 

deaths, hundreds of thousands of civilian refugees, and 

widespread destruction; 

Whereas the Ukrainian military remains at a significant disadvantage compared to the armed forces of the Russian 

Federation in terms of size and technological sophistication; 

Whereas the United States strongly supports efforts to assist 

Ukraine to defend its territory against military aggression by the Russian Federation and by separatist and 

paramilitary forces; 
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Whereas Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a civilian airliner, was 

destroyed by a Russian-made missile provided to the separatist forces by the Russian Federation, taking all 298 

innocent lives on board; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has used and is continuing 

to use coercive economic measures, including the manipulation of energy prices and supplies as well as trade restrictions, to place political and economic pressure on 

Ukraine; 

Whereas visa, financial, and other sanctions imposed by the 

United States, the European Union, and other allies and 

partners have placed significant pressure on the Russian 

Federation and its leadership but have not been sufficient 

to end its political, military, and economic aggression 

against Ukraine; 

Whereas the President of the United States has authority to 

impose stronger sanctions against the Russian Federation and its leadership; 

Whereas an aggressive Russian propaganda effort through 

the dissemination of false information is intended to 

stoke ethnic divisions and incite violence, thereby posing 

a direct threat to the peace and stability of Ukraine; 

Whereas on April 3, 2014, the President signed Public Law 

113–96 for the purpose of bolstering the resources of the 

Broadcasting Board of Governors to counter Russian 

propaganda and provide the people of Ukraine and the 

surrounding regions with access to credible and uncensored sources of information; 

Whereas the United States remains committed to Ukraine’s 

democratic development and to the establishment of a 
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government that includes and respects representatives 

from all regions of Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States is committed to assisting the Government of Ukraine ensure that the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26, 2014, are free, fair, and 

held in all regions of Ukraine in full accordance with 

international standards; 

Whereas the United States strongly supports the development 

of a prosperous market economy in Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States strongly supports the implementation of economic reforms in Ukraine, including in the fiscal, energy, pension, and banking sectors, among others; 

Whereas the United States supports the development of 

Ukraine’s trade and economic ties with other countries 

and especially the European Union following the signing 

of an Association Agreement on June 27, 2014; 

Whereas the United States strongly supports energy diversification initiatives to reduce Russian control of energy 

supplies to Ukraine and other European countries, including the development of domestic sources of energy, 

increased efficiency, and substituting energy obtained 

from Russia with imports from other countries; 

Whereas the terms of the cease-fire announced on September 

5, 2014, are being violated by the Russian Federation 

and the separatist and paramilitary forces it supports; 

Whereas this cease-fire, if its terms are fully met by all parties, may be a first step toward the reestablishment of 

stability that must include the full withdrawal of Russian 

forces from Ukrainian territory, the establishment of 

Ukraine’s control over all of its international borders, the 

disarming of the separatist and paramilitary forces in the 
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east, an end to Russia’s use of its energy exports and 

trade barriers to apply economic and political pressure on 

Ukraine, and an end to Russian interference in Ukraine’s 

internal affairs; 

Whereas the political, military, and economic aggression 

against Ukraine by the Russian Federation underscores 

the enduring importance of the North Atlantic Treaty 

Organization as the cornerstone of collective Euro-Atlantic defense; and 

Whereas the United States reaffirms its obligations under the 

North Atlantic Treaty, especially Article 5, which states 

that ‘‘an armed attack against one or more’’ of the treaty 

signatories ‘‘shall be considered an attack against them 

all’’: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) strongly supports the right of the people of 

Ukraine to freely determine their future, including their 

country’s relationship with other nations and international organizations, without interference, intimidation, or coercion by other countries; 

(2) calls on the President to continue to work with 

our allies and partners in Europe and other nations 

around the world to reaffirm the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine and to refuse 

to recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation; 

(3) strongly condemns the continuing political, economic, and military aggression by the Russian Federa-
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tion against Ukraine and the violation of its sovereignty, 

independence, and territorial integrity; 

(4) states that the military intervention by the Russian Federation is a breach of its obligations under the 

United Nations Charter and its commitments as a participating State of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and is a violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, in which it 

pledged to respect the independence and sovereignty and 

the existing borders of Ukraine and to refrain from the 

threat of use of force against the territorial integrity or 

political independence of Ukraine; and poses a threat to 

international peace and security; 

(5) demands that the Russian Federation remove 

its military forces and military equipment from the territory of Ukraine, including equipment provided to the 

separatist and paramilitary forces; 

(6) demands that the Russian Federation end its 

political, military, and economic support of separatist 

and paramilitary forces in Ukraine; 

(7) demands that the Russian Federation and the 

separatist and paramilitary forces it supports end their 

violations of the cease-fire announced on September 5, 

2014; 
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(8) calls on the President to cooperate with allies 

and partners in Europe and other nations around the 

world to impose visa bans, targeted asset freezes, sectoral sanctions, and other measures on the Russian Federation and its leadership sufficient to compel it to end 

its violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, to remove its military forces and equipment from 

Ukrainian territory, and to end its support of separatist 

and paramilitary forces; 

(9) calls on the President to provide the Government of Ukraine with defense articles, services, and 

training required to effectively defend its territory and 

sovereignty; 

(10) calls on the President to ensure the delivery of 

urgently needed assistance to Ukraine and to ensure 

that all future assistance will be rapidly delivered; 

(11) calls on the President to provide the Government of Ukraine with appropriate intelligence and other 

relevant information to assist the Government of 

Ukraine to defend its territory and sovereignty; 

(12) calls on the President to work with the Government of Ukraine, our allies and other nations, and 

international organizations to ensure that the multinational team investigating the destruction of Malaysia 

Airlines Flight 17 is able to conduct an unrestricted in-
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vestigation, guarantee the repatriation of remains and 

personal effects from the crash site, report its findings 

free of outside political influence or intimidation and to 

ensure that those directly and indirectly responsible for 

this tragedy are brought to justice; 

(13) calls on our European allies, and other countries and international organizations, to join the United 

States in providing assistance to the Government of 

Ukraine to ensure that the parliamentary elections 

scheduled for October 26, 2014, are free, fair, and held 

in all regions of Ukraine in full accordance with international standards; 

(14) calls on the President to expand United States 

international broadcasting efforts to Russian-speaking 

audiences in Ukraine and both inside and outside of 

Russia and include a broad spectrum of communications 

mediums to provide high-quality programming content, 

independent journalism, and credible information to 

counter Russia’s propaganda; 

(15) calls on Ukraine and other countries to support energy diversification initiatives to reduce the ability of the Russian Federation to use its energy exports 

as a means of applying political or economic pressure, 

including by promoting increased natural gas exports 

from the United States and other countries; 
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(16) strongly supports the efforts by President 

Poroshenko and the people of Ukraine to establish a 

lasting peace in Ukraine that includes the full withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine’s territory, the 

establishment of Ukraine’s control over all of its international borders, the disarming of the separatist and 

paramilitary forces in the east, policies to reduce Russia’s ability to use energy exports and trade barriers as 

weapons to apply economic and political pressure on 

Ukraine, and an end to Russia’s interference in 

Ukraine’s internal affairs; and 

(17) reaffirms the commitment of the United States 

to its obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty, especially Article 5, and calls on all Alliance member states 

to provide their full share of the resources needed to ensure their collective defense. 

Attest: 

Clerk.