III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 559 

Expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to the 

journalists and news staff who are risking injury and death, are subject 

to grave threat, and have sacrificed their lives, to chronicle and report 

on the ongoing war in Ukraine resulting from the Russian Federation’s 

invasion. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 29, 2022 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. CASSIDY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the United 

States to the journalists and news staff who are risking 

injury and death, are subject to grave threat, and have 

sacrificed their lives, to chronicle and report on the ongoing war in Ukraine resulting from the Russian Federation’s invasion. 

Whereas Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet 

Union on August 24, 1991, and that independence was 

reaffirmed in a popular referendum on December 1, 

1991; 

Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian military invaded the sovereign country of Ukraine under the direction of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir 


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•SRES 559 IS 

Putin (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘Putin’’), carrying 

out attacks on cities with ballistic missiles, heavy artillery, and tanks; 

Whereas Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions includes the 

Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, 

prohibiting attacks on civilian persons and populations, 

and defines journalists and war correspondents as civilians; 

Whereas the Russian Federation was an original signatory to 

the Geneva Conventions until Putin removed the Russian 

Federation from Protocol in October 2019, demonstrating a clear disregard for innocent life; 

Whereas, as of March 29, 2022, thousands of civilians, including children, are recorded as having been killed during the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine; 

Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground in 

Ukraine, reporting freelance, reporting for global networks and media, and working on documentary efforts to 

record the ongoing humanitarian crisis and war caused 

by the Russian Federation’s invasion of the sovereign 

country of Ukraine; 

Whereas many of the journalists and news staff covering the 

war in Ukraine are United States citizens or working for 

United States news agencies; 

Whereas shelling by Russian Federation forces has included 

the shelling of humanitarian corridors, maternity hospitals, schools, and other primarily civilian locations; 

Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground along 

Russian-targeted humanitarian corridors and in major 

cities across Ukraine; 


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•SRES 559 IS 

Whereas dozens of members of the free press have been murdered or injured by Russian Federation forces as of 

March 29, 2022, with more casualties and injuries likely; 

Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Stefan 

Weichert was shot and wounded while reporting near 

Okhtyrka, Ukraine; 

Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Emil 

Filtenborg was shot and wounded while reporting near 

Okhtyrka, Ukraine; 

Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay was shot and wounded when 

his car was ambushed by Russian soldiers in Kyiv, 

Ukraine; 

Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News camera 

operator Richie Mockler was shot and wounded when his 

car was ambushed by Russian soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine; 

Whereas, on March 1, 2022, Ukrainian-based journalist and 

camera operator Yevhenii Sakun was killed when Russian 

Federation forces shelled a television tower in Kyiv, 

Ukraine; 

Whereas, on March 6, 2022, Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet was wounded and robbed by Russia soldiers who 

shot at his car on the road to Mykolaiv, Ukraine; 

Whereas, on March 13, 2022, United States documentarian 

and film director Brent Renaud was shot in Irpin, 

Ukraine, and later died of his wounds; 

Whereas, on March 13, 2022, United States journalist Juan 

Arredondo was shot and wounded while reporting in 

Irpin, Ukraine; 


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•SRES 559 IS 

Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Ukrainian Fox News journalist 

Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshinova was killed in Horenka, 

Ukraine, when her vehicle was struck by incoming arms 

fire; 

Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Irish Fox News cameraman 

and photographer Pierre Zakrzewski was killed in 

Horenka, Ukraine, when his vehicle was struck by incoming arms fire; 

Whereas, on March 15, 2022, United States Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded when his vehicle 

was struck by incoming arms fire in Horenka, Ukraine; 

Whereas it is possible that additional Ukrainian and foreign 

press have been or will be injured and killed so long as 

Russian Federation forces continue their brutal attack on 

civilians; 

Whereas all civilians, including journalists and news staff, 

should be spared violence by military forces; 

Whereas Putin and his cronies have demonstrated complete 

disregard for innocent life, the sovereignty of Ukraine, 

the right to free speech, and the rights and value of a 

free press; 

Whereas Putin is engaged in a propaganda war, as well as 

a military war, and the Russian Federation continues to 

push a false narrative about Russian military presence in 

Ukraine; 

Whereas the United States supports a free and fair press and 

rejects any and all propagandist efforts by the Russian 

Federation to cover up and hide the truth behind the 

Russian Federation’s invasion; 

Whereas journalists and news staff on the ground in Ukraine 

who are reporting the truth to the world, including jourVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 30, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR559.IS SR559

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•SRES 559 IS 

nalists and news staff from the United States, are instrumental in combating false propaganda pushed by Putin 

and his cronies; and 

Whereas, despite the overwhelming threat and risk to their 

lives and the sacrifices already made, journalists and 

news staff continue to report bravely from Ukraine: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) declares its gratitude on behalf of the peo3 ple of the United States to the journalists and news 

4 staff who continue to put themselves in harm’s way 

5 to report on the humanitarian crisis and ongoing 

6 war on the ground in Ukraine following the Russian 

7 Federation’s invasion; 

8 (2) remembers the journalists and news staff 

9 who have lost their lives or have been severely in10 jured reporting from Ukraine and conveys the sym11 pathies and appreciation of the people of the United 

12 States to their families for their sacrifice; 

13 (3) condemns President of the Russian Federa14 tion Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of 

15 Belarus Aleksander Lukashenko, and their officials 

16 for authorizing and executing attacks on innocent 

17 Ukrainian civilians, residential areas, and humani18 tarian corridors, resulting in the loss of life of civil19 ians, including journalists and news staff; and 


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•SRES 559 IS 

1 (4) honors the contributions of journalists and 

2 news staff reporting from the war in Ukraine as es3 sential in the ongoing struggle for the rights of a 

4 free press and free speech internationally, pivotal in 

5 pushing back against false propaganda by tyrants, 

6 and crucial to informing the people of the United 

7 States and the world of the horrors being wrought 

8 against the Ukrainian people. 

Æ 


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