III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 378 

Condemning illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2014 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. COATS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. CORKER, Mr. 

BROWN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. WARNER, Mr. WICKER, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. INHOFE, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KIRK, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. 

JOHANNS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. 

SCHUMER, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. ROBERTS, and Mr. 

RISCH) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine. 

Whereas the recent unprovoked Russian military occupation 

of the Crimea region of Ukraine, and further military 

threats against additional Ukrainian territory, are an affront to international norms and agreements and a threat 

to global peace and security; 

Whereas, under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation has a history of bullying neighboring countries in 

an attempt to rebuild Russian dominance on its borders—often under the guise of protecting Russian citizens—including forcibly seizing the South Ossetia and 

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Abkhazia regions of the independent Republic of Georgia 

in 2008; 

Whereas the Russian Federation continues to illegally occupy 

South Ossetia and Abkhazia and has erected fences along 

administrative boundary lines and permanent military 

bases in violation of the cease fire agreement negotiated 

with the European Union; 

Whereas, during 2013, then-President of Ukraine Viktor 

Yanukovych faced similar Russian coercion to not sign a 

long-negotiated Association Agreement with the European Union, including threats to gas contracts, the supply of which the Russian Federation turned off in 2006 

and 2009; 

Whereas, in November 2013, President Yanukovych abruptly 

canceled plans to sign the Association Agreement, saying 

Ukraine could not afford to sacrifice trade with the Russian Federation as a result; 

Whereas, for three ensuing months, hundreds of thousands of 

protesters in Ukraine endured cold and government harassment and violence to protest the decision and demand 

closer ties to the West; 

Whereas, on February 20, 2014, Ukrainian security forces, 

including heavily armed snipers, fired on demonstrators 

in Kyiv, leaving dozens dead and the people of Ukraine 

reeling from the most lethal day of violence since the Soviet era, and many of Yanukovych’s political allies, including the mayor of the Kyiv, resigned from his governing Party of Regions to protest the bloodshed; 

Whereas, on February 22, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament 

found then-President Yanukovych unable to fulfill his duties, exercised its constitutional powers to remove him 

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from office, and set an election for May 25, 2014, to select his replacement; 

Whereas, amid Ukraine’s economic hardships, President 

Yanukovych amassed a lavish secret estate that included 

a private zoo, exotic gardens, numerous automobiles, and 

a tall ship; 

Whereas, on February 27, 2014, heavily armed soldiers without identification or insignia began securing key facilities 

in the Crimea, including its regional parliament and two 

airports, and in the ensuing days encircled Ukrainian 

military facilities and gained effective control of the region; 

Whereas the military forces are clearly Russian troops, and 

on March 1, 2014, President Putin sought and received 

rubber stamp parliamentary approval to use military 

force against greater Ukraine, having argued that the 

Government of the Russian Federation acted because of 

the ‘‘threat of violence from ultranationalists’’; 

Whereas there has been no credible evidence of serious 

threats to Russian citizens in Crimea or elsewhere in 

Ukraine, and the Russian Federation’s military invasion 

has been widely condemned internationally; 

Whereas the Russian Federation, as a signatory to the 1994 

Budapest Memorandum, reaffirmed its commitment to 

Ukraine, to respect the independence and sovereignty and 

the existing borders of Ukraine, to refrain from the 

threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or 

political independence of Ukraine, to refrain from economic coercion to subordinate Ukraine to Russia’s interests, and to consult in the event a situation arises that 

raises a question concerning these commitments; 

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Whereas, in 1997, the Russian Federation and Ukraine 

signed a friendship treaty, during which time Russian 

President Boris Yeltsin said in Kyiv, ‘‘We respect and 

honor the territorial integrity of Ukraine.’’; 

Whereas the Russian Federation, as a participating state in 

the Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1975 (Helsinki Final Act), committed to respect the sovereign equality and individuality 

of other participating states, including the right of every 

state to territorial integrity and to freedom and political 

independence, to refrain from the threat or use of force 

against the territorial integrity or political independence 

of any state, to regard as inviolable all one another’s 

frontiers as well as the frontiers of all states in Europe, 

and to refrain from making each other’s territory the object of military occupation; 

Whereas, under United Nations Charter Article 2, all members shall settle international disputes by peaceful means 

in a manner that international peace and security are not 

endangered and refrain from the threat or use of force 

against the territorial integrity or political independence 

of any state; 

Whereas President Putin himself wrote in 2013, ‘‘Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything 

else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter 

and would constitute an act of aggression.’’; 

Whereas the North Atlantic Council stated that Russian military action against Ukraine is a breach of international 

law and contravenes the principles of the NATO-Russia 

Council and the Partnership for Peace and that Russia 

must respect its obligations under the United Nations 

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Charter and principles of the Organization for Security 

and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on which peace and 

stability in Europe rest; 

Whereas leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 

the United Kingdom, and the United States and the 

presidents of the European Council and the European 

Commission condemned the Russian Federation’s clear 

violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, in contravention of the Russian Federation’s obligations under the United Nations Charter and its 1997 

basing agreement with Ukraine; 

Whereas, on February 28, 2014, President Barack Obama 

stated that the United States is ‘‘deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine’’ and that it ‘‘would be a clear 

violation of Russia’s commitment to respect the independence and sovereignty and borders of Ukraine, and of 

international law’’; and 

Whereas President Obama pledged that ‘‘the United States 

will stand with the international community in affirming 

that there will be costs for any military intervention in 

Ukraine’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the unprovoked and illegal Rus3 sian military seizure of the Ukrainian Crimea and 

4 demands the immediate withdrawal of Russian 

5 forces except as specifically allowed for by treaty; 

6 (2) demands the immediate release of besieged 

7 Ukrainian security forces in Crimea, who have 

8 shown remarkable restraint under threat; 

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1 (3) warns that failure to do so or any additional 

2 military action against other areas of Ukraine will 

3 lead to swift and significant consequences in the 

4 Russian Federation’s relations with the United 

5 States and those nations who share our views; 

6 (4) urges the President to use all appropriate 

7 economic elements of United States national power, 

8 in coordination with United States allies, including 

9 loan guarantees matched with requirements of inter10 national financial institutions regarding Ukrainian 

11 economic reforms and transparency, to strengthen 

12 the Ukrainian economy and protect the independ13 ence, sovereignty, and territorial and economic integ14 rity of Ukraine; 

15 (5) urges the President to use appropriate eco16 nomic and diplomatic measures, including calibrated 

17 sanctions, against those responsible for the illegal 

18 seizure of Crimea; 

19 (6) urges the President to propose to G–8 na20 tions to suspend the Russian Federation, and to pro21 pose to our NATO allies to suspend operation of the 

22 NATO-Russia Council and suspend the Russian 

23 Federation’s military and diplomatic representation 

24 at NATO; 

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1 (7) condemns the economic coercion pursued by 

2 the Russian Federation beginning in July 2013 

3 against Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, and other 

4 countries in the region in order to obstruct closer 

5 ties between the European Union and the countries 

6 of the Eastern Partnership and supports the people 

7 of Ukraine in their desire to forge closer ties with 

8 Europe; 

9 (8) supports assisting Ukraine and United 

10 States allies in the region in gaining energy security 

11 in order to alleviate their vulnerability to the Rus12 sian Federation’s threats and manipulations; 

13 (9) expresses its continuing support for demo14 cratic allies who regularly face aggression on their 

15 borders from the Government of the Russian Fed16 eration and supports enhanced security cooperation 

17 with, and security assistance to, states in Central 

18 and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine; 

19 (10) encourages governments in Europe to take 

20 similar and coordinated actions to make it clear to 

21 the Government of the Russian Federation that vio22 lating the territorial integrity of sovereign nations 

23 will have swift and significant consequences; 

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1 (11) calls for the immediate acceptance of a 

2 credible international observer mission in Crimea 

3 and other parts of the Ukraine; 

4 (12) calls on the Government of the Russian 

5 Federation to seriously engage with the Government 

6 of Ukraine in a political dialogue on a political and 

7 diplomatic path that respects Ukrainian sovereignty 

8 and the Crimea’s complex historic and ethnic make9 up; 

10 (13) supports the efforts of the Government of 

11 Ukraine to bring to justice those responsible for the 

12 acts of violence related to the anti-government pro13 tests that began on November 21, 2013; 

14 (14) supports the efforts of the Government of 

15 Ukraine to recover and return to the Ukrainian 

16 state funds stolen by former President Yanukovych, 

17 his family, and other current and former members 

18 of the Government of Ukraine and elites; and 

19 (15) calls upon the leadership of the Fe ́de ́ration 

20 Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to re21 consider its decision to place World Cup 2018 

22 matches in Russia. 

Æ 

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