III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 74 

Marking the fifth anniversary of Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity by honoring 

the bravery, determination, and sacrifice of the people of Ukraine during 

and since the Revolution, and condemning continued Russian aggression 

against Ukraine. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. PORTMAN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. 

ERNST, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. BROWN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, and Mr. JONES) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Marking the fifth anniversary of Ukraine’s Revolution of 

Dignity by honoring the bravery, determination, and sacrifice of the people of Ukraine during and since the 

Revolution, and condemning continued Russian aggression against Ukraine. 

Whereas, on November 21, 2013, peaceful protests began on 

Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv against the decision by the government of then-President Viktor 

Yanukovych to suspend signing the Ukraine-European 

Union (EU) Association Agreement and instead pursue 

closer ties with the Russian Federation; 


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Whereas the Maidan protests, initially referred to as the 

Euromaidan, quickly drew thousands of people and 

broadened to become a general demonstration in support 

of Ukraine’s integration with the European Union and 

against the corrupt Yanukovych regime; 

Whereas, on the night of November 30, 2013, Ukrainian police forces surrounded and violently dispersed peaceful 

protestors on the Maidan; 

Whereas the next day, thousands of Euromaidan demonstrators regrouped and resumed the protests for three 

months, despite facing continuing and increasing violence 

from the police; 

Whereas, on January 16, 2014, anti-protest laws, known as 

the ‘‘dictatorship laws’’, were adopted by the Government 

of Ukraine, which sought to restrict the actions of the 

Euromaidan protestors; 

Whereas these laws were condemned by Euromaidan 

protestors as well as Western officials, including thenSecretary of State John Kerry, who called them ‘‘antidemocratic’’; 

Whereas many of these laws were repealed just 11 days after 

being signed into law; 

Whereas, on the night of February 18, 2014, police assaulted 

and burned down the Trade Union Building in Kyiv, 

which had been used as a headquarters for the 

Euromaidan movement; 

Whereas Yanukovych’s government forces began using live 

ammunition against the Euromaidan movement, leading 

to the deaths of more than a hundred protestors who are 

now remembered in Ukraine as the ‘‘Heavenly Hundred’’; 


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Whereas, on February 21, 2014, in the face of the ongoing 

Euromaidan protests demanding his resignation, thenPresident Viktor Yanukovych fled Kyiv, and then fled 

Ukraine the next day; 

Whereas, on February 22, 2014, the Verkhovna Rada of 

Ukraine recognized that Yanukovych had ceased his functions as president, voted him from office, and scheduled 

early presidential elections for May 25, 2014; 

Whereas, on February 25, 2014, fulfilling demands of the 

Maidan, Ukraine’s special police force known as the 

Berkut was dissolved, as it had been heavily involved in 

the violence against the Euromaidan protestors; 

Whereas the Ukrainian government’s use of force against activists throughout the Euromaidan protests, including the 

use of live bullets, was widely condemned by Western 

governments, including the United States, and ultimately 

failed to discourage the Euromaidan movement; 

Whereas, on September 1, 2017, the Ukraine–EU Association 

Agreement came into force after its signing by the Government of Ukraine and the EU; 

Whereas, in response to Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, the 

Russian Federation launched military aggression against 

Ukraine, illegally occupied Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, 

and instigated a war in eastern Ukraine, which is still ongoing and has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainians; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s attempted invasion and 

annexation of Crimea has been widely seen as an effort 

to stifle pro-democracy developments across Ukraine in 

2014 in the wake of the Revolution of Dignity; 

Whereas 2019 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of 

the Budapest Memorandum, which committed the United 


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States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation 

to refrain from the threat or use of force against 

Ukraine’s territorial integrity in exchange for Ukraine 

giving up its nuclear weapons; 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1994 

Budapest Memorandum and thus committed to respect 

the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of 

Ukraine; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation is further obligated to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine pursuant to its commitments as a signatory to the Helsinki 

Final Act and the Charter of the United Nations; 

Whereas, on March 27, 2014, the United Nations General 

Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 calling on states 

and international organizations not to recognize any 

change in Crimea’s status and affirmed the commitment 

of the United Nations to recognize Crimea as part of 

Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on individuals and entities who have enabled the attempted invasion, annexation, and occupation 

of Crimea; 

Whereas, pursuant to the Revolution of Dignity’s goal of 

fighting corruption in Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of 

Ukraine adopted the Law On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) of Ukraine on October 14, 2014; 

Whereas, on June 26, 2017, the Law of Ukraine On the Establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court was 

signed into law; 

Whereas, on July 5, 2018, the Law on National Security was 

adopted, which has strengthened civilian control over the 


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Ukrainian military, increased transparency in the security sector, and more clearly delineated the powers of law 

enforcement agencies; 

Whereas, on January 6, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch of 

Constantinople granted autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, thus establishing the first independent 

Ukrainian Orthodox Church in over 300 years; 

Whereas despite requests by the Government of Ukraine, the 

Government of the Russian Federation has repeatedly refused to extradite former President of Ukraine Viktor 

Yanukovych to stand trial in Ukraine; 

Whereas, on January 24, 2019, a Ukrainian court found 

Yanukovych guilty in absentia of high treason and complicity in conducting an aggressive war against Ukraine, 

and sentenced him to 13 years in prison; 

Whereas, in order to help Ukraine preserve its sovereignty in 

the face of Russian aggression, the United States Government has provided Ukraine with over $1,000,000,000 

in security assistance, including critical defensive items 

such as Javelin anti-tank missiles and Island-class cutters; and 

Whereas, in the 115th Congress, both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives 

passed resolutions commemorating the 85th anniversary 

of the Holodomor, the Soviet Union’s manmade famine 

that it committed against the people of Ukraine in 1932 

and 1933: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) remembers the courage and resolve shown 

2 by the Ukrainian people in the Revolution of Dig3 nity; 

4 (2) solemnly honors the ‘‘Heavenly Hundred’’ 

5 who were killed during the Revolution of Dignity 

6 while fighting for the causes of freedom and democ7 racy in Ukraine; 

8 (3) applauds the progress that the Government 

9 of Ukraine has made since the Revolution of Dignity 

10 in strengthening the rule of law, aligning itself with 

11 Euro-Atlantic norms and standards, and improving 

12 military combat readiness and interoperability with 

13 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); 

14 (4) encourages the Government of Ukraine to 

15 continue implementing crucial reforms to fight cor16 ruption, build strong and free markets, and 

17 strengthen democracy and the rule of law; 

18 (5) affirms the United States Government’s un19 wavering commitment to supporting the continuing 

20 efforts of the Government of Ukraine to implement 

21 democratic and free market reforms, restoring 

22 Ukraine’s territorial integrity, as well as providing 

23 additional lethal and non-lethal security assistance 

24 to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities on land, 


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1 sea, and in the air in order to improve deterrence 

2 against Russian aggression; 

3 (6) condemns the Russian Federation’s ongoing 

4 malign activities against Ukraine and renews its call 

5 on the Government of the Russian Federation to im6 mediately cease all activity that seeks to undermine 

7 Ukraine and destabilize the European continent; 

8 (7) reiterates its strong condemnation of the 

9 provocative actions and unjustified use of military 

10 force by the Government of the Russian Federation 

11 in the Kerch Strait against the Ukrainian Navy on 

12 November 25, 2018, as a blatant violation of the 

13 Russian Federation’s commitments under inter14 national law and the 2003 Treaty Between the Rus15 sian Federation and Ukraine on Cooperation in the 

16 Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait; 

17 (8) expresses its support to all Ukrainian polit18 ical prisoners convicted on fabricated charges and 

19 incarcerated by Russian or Russian-controlled au20 thorities, including the Ukrainian sailors seized in 

21 the November 25, 2018, attack near the Kerch 

22 Strait who are due treatment under the 1949 Gene23 va Conventions and have been illegally kept in deten24 tion in the territory of the Russian Federation, while 


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1 renewing its strong call on the Kremlin to imme2 diately release these Ukrainian citizens; 

3 (9) affirms the Department of State’s Crimea 

4 Declaration, announced on July 25, 2018, that re5 jects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and 

6 pledges to maintain this policy until Ukraine’s terri7 torial integrity is restored; 

8 (10) believes that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline 

9 poses a major threat to European security, seeks to 

10 further undermine Ukraine’s economic stability, and 

11 threatens to increase the country’s vulnerability to 

12 further Russian military incursions; 

13 (11) calls upon the United States Government, 

14 as well as its international allies and partners, to 

15 maintain a strong sanctions regime against the Rus16 sian Federation until it upholds its international ob17 ligations towards Ukraine, including the Budapest 

18 Memorandum on Security Assurances and the Minsk 

19 Agreements; and 

20 (12) congratulates the people of Ukraine on the 

21 announcement on January 6, 2019, of autocephaly 

22 for an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, 

23 which has marked an important milestone in 


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1 Ukraine’s pursuit of its own future free from Rus2 sian influence. 

Æ 


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