III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 72 

Recognizing Russian actions in Ukraine as a genocide. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

CRAPO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. GRAHAM, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. YOUNG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing Russian actions in Ukraine as a genocide. 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s illegal, premeditated, 

unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine includes extensive, systematic, and flagrant atrocities against the 

people of Ukraine; 

Whereas article II of the Convention on the Prevention and 

Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (in this preamble 

referred to as the ‘‘Genocide Convention’’), adopted and 

opened for signature in 1948 and entered into force in 

1951, defines genocide as ‘‘any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) 

Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily 

or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately 


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•SRES 72 IS 

inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to 

bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; 

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within 

the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group 

to another group’’; 

Whereas, on October 3, 2018, the Senate unanimously agreed 

to Senate Resolution 435, 115th Congress, which commemorated the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor and 

‘‘recognize[d] the findings of the Commission on the 

Ukraine Famine as submitted to Congress on April 22, 

1988, including that ‘Joseph Stalin and those around 

him committed genocide against the Ukrainians in 1932– 

1933’ ’’; 

Whereas substantial and significant evidence documents widespread, systematic actions against the Ukrainian people 

committed by Russian forces under the direction of political leadership of the Russian Federation that meet one 

or more of the criteria under article II of the Genocide 

Convention, including— 

(1) killing members of the Ukrainian people in mass 

atrocities through deliberate and regularized murders of 

fleeing civilians and civilians in passing as well as purposeful targeting of homes, schools, hospitals, shelters, 

and other residential and civilian areas; 

(2) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the Ukrainian people by launching indiscriminate 

attacks against civilians and civilian areas, conducting 

willful strikes on humanitarian evacuation corridors, and 

employing widespread and systematic sexual violence 

against Ukrainian civilians, including women, children, 

and men; 


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•SRES 72 IS 

(3) deliberately inflicting upon the Ukrainian people 

conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical 

destruction in whole or in part, including displacement 

due to annihilated villages, towns, and cities left devoid 

of food, water, shelter, electricity, and other basic necessities, starvation caused by the destruction of farmlands 

and agricultural equipment, the placing of Russian landmines across thousands of acres of useable fields, and 

blocking the delivery of humanitarian food aid; 

(4) imposing measures intended to prevent births 

among the Ukrainian people, demonstrated by the Russian military’s expansive and direct targeting of maternity hospitals and other medical facilities and systematic 

attacks against residential and civilian areas as well as 

humanitarian corridors intended to deprive Ukrainians of 

safe havens within their own country and the material 

conditions conducive to childrearing; and 

(5) forcibly mass transferring millions of Ukrainian 

civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom are children, to 

the Russian Federation or territories controlled by the 

Russian Federation; 

Whereas the intent of the Russian Federation and those acting on its behalf in favor of those heinous crimes against 

humanity has been demonstrated through frequent pronouncements and other forms of official communication 

denying Ukrainian nationhood, including President 

Putin’s ahistorical claims that Ukraine is part of a ‘‘single whole’’ Russian nation with ‘‘no historical basis’’ for 

being an independent country; 

Whereas some Russian soldiers and brigades accused of committing war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine, and elsewhere 

were rewarded with medals by President Putin; 


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•SRES 72 IS 

Whereas the Russian state-owned media outlet RIA Novosti 

published the article ‘‘What Should Russia do with 

Ukraine’’, which outlines ‘‘de-Nazification’’ as meaning 

‘‘de-Ukrainianization’’ or the destruction of Ukraine and 

rejection of the ‘‘ethnic component’’ of Ukraine; 

Whereas article I of the Genocide Convention confirms ‘‘that 

genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time 

of war, is a crime under international law which [the 

Contracting Parties] undertake to prevent and to punish’’; 

Whereas although additional documentation and analysis of 

atrocities committed by the Russian Federation in 

Ukraine may be needed to punish those responsible, the 

substantial and significant documentation already undertaken, combined with statements showing intent, compel 

urgent action to prevent future acts of genocide; and 

Whereas the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 

Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) authorizes the President 

to impose economic sanctions on, and deny entry into the 

United States to, foreign individuals identified as engaging in gross violations of internationally recognized 

human rights: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns those acting on behalf of the Rus3 sian Federation for committing acts of genocide 

4 against the Ukrainian people; 

5 (2) calls on the United States, in cooperation 

6 with allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organiza7 tion and the European Union, to undertake meas8 ures to support the Government of Ukraine to preVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR72.IS SR72

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1 vent acts of Russian genocide against the Ukrainian 

2 people; 

3 (3) supports tribunals and international crimi4 nal investigations to hold Russian political leaders 

5 and military personnel to account for a war of ag6 gression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 

7 genocide; and 

8 (4) urges the President to use the authorities 

9 under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account10 ability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) to impose eco11 nomic sanctions on those responsible for, or 

12 complicit in, genocide in Ukraine by the Russian 

13 Federation and those acting on its behalf. 

Æ 


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