Recognizing, honoring, and commending the women of Ukraine who have contributed to the fight for freedom and the defense of Ukraine.

Recognizing, honoring, and commending the women of Ukraine who have contributed to the fight for freedom and the defense of Ukraine. Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin instigated an unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful war violating the territorial integrity of the sovereign country of Ukraine; Whereas, in response to this invasion, the people of Ukraine marshaled their will to defend their country and shared belief in a sovereign Ukraine in order to resist the imperialist ambitions of Vladimir Putin; Whereas countless Ukrainian men, women, and children have done their part to defend democracy and freedom in Ukraine; Whereas women have played a key role in defending Ukraine, keeping their families and innocent children safe and responding to the invasion by the Russian Federation; Whereas, in the first 3 months of fighting in Ukraine, more than 6,100,000 Ukrainians, of which the majority are women and children, fled the country in response to Putins war; Whereas women play a critical role in facilitating the transit of children to safety, including by escorting the children of parents and guardians who cannot leave Ukraine so that such children are able to find safety in neighboring countries; Whereas the women who remain in Ukraine contribute to all aspects of warfighting, including by fighting on the front lines and as part of the territorial defense, delivering supplies and weapons, and preparing cities for assaults by the Russian Federation; Whereas between 15 and 17 percent of the armed forces of Ukraine are women; Whereas the women of Ukraine have a long history of defending Ukraine and standing up for their rights and freedoms; Whereas, following the 2014 invasion of the sovereign and independent state of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the women of Ukraine joined the fight to preserve their independence; Whereas, despite significant contributions to the war effort now and since 2014, outdated legislation in Ukraine classifies women as cooks, tailors, and administrative assistants; Whereas women are an integral part of the armed forces of Ukraine and continue to defend their homes and their country; Whereas, on March 9, the armed forces of the Russian Federation deliberately attacked civilian targets in Mariupol, Ukraine, which destroyed a hospital that served as both a maternity ward and a childrens hospital, killing two women and a baby; Whereas, following the devastating attack on the well-known and established hospital, the world watched in horror as pregnant women, mothers carrying newborn babies, and young children fled the rubble of what should have been a safe place; Whereas the women at the hospital should have been celebrating new life and looking toward raising their children in peace and safety, instead, those women are seeking shelter in subways, giving birth in bunkers, and worrying for the safety of their children and the future of Ukraine; Whereas the attack on the maternity ward and childrens hospital in Mariupol was the fourth such attack on a maternity ward in Ukraine by the Russian Federation since the beginning of the invasion on February 24; Whereas, according to Save the Children, more than 63,000 women have given birth since the start of the war, while the United Nations estimates that 80,000 Ukrainian women will give birth in between April and June of 2022; Whereas all women, in every situation, have the right to a safe birth and access to crucial supplies necessary for the management of pregnancy complications, including oxygen and medical supplies, which are running dangerously low in Ukraine because of the ongoing violence and refusal on the part of the Russian Federation to allow for safe passage for humanitarian purposes; Whereas, on March 17, 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the deliberate targeting of civilians in Ukraine as a war crime, which should be investigated as such; Whereas, on March 23, 2022, Secretary Blinken announced that it was the assessment of the United States Government that members of Russias forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources Whereas the Russian Federation has deliberately attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, including schools, hospitals, businesses, apartment buildings, and utility services; Whereas the initial days of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation have resulted in a disproportionate number of women and children seeking safety outside of Ukraine; Whereas Ukrainian women and girls, like women and girls in all humanitarian emergencies, including women and girls forced to leave their homes in conflict settings, face increased and exacerbated vulnerabilities to (1) gender-based violence, including rape, child marriage, domestic violence, and sexual exploitation and assault; (2) all forms of human trafficking; (3) disruptions in education and livelihood; (4) lack of access to health care; and (5) food insecurity and malnutrition; Whereas the United Nations Security Council adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on October 31, 2000, acknowledging the impact of conflict and security decisions on women and calling on all member states to include women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict Whereas, according to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (commonly referred to as UN Women Whereas, in 2016, Ukraine adopted its first National Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, and, on October 28, 2020, Ukraine approved a new National Action Plan for 2021 through 2025 in order to address the impact on women of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and to ensure gender equality in the security and defense sectors of Ukraine; Whereas representation of women in politics in Ukraine has increased steadily since the first parliament of an independent Ukraine met in 1990; Whereas more than 20 percent of seats in the ninth and current Verkhovna Rada are held by women, the most in Ukrainian history; Whereas women across Ukraine have made political gains in recent years, including in local elections on October 25, 2020, where 38 percent of deputies elected were women; and Whereas women in Ukraine should be involved at all levels and in all aspects of leadership, negotiation, conflict resolution, and peacekeeping in order to ensure the most enduring peace for Ukraine and the region: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate (1) recognizes, honors, and commends the women of Ukraine who have contributed to the fight for freedom and the defense of Ukraine, including women who (A) are members of the Armed Forces and the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine; (B) are volunteers, organizing and operating humanitarian organizations; (C) are doctors, nurses, paramedics, and support personnel, providing life-saving services across Ukraine; (D) have mobilized to assist the safe transfer of the children and other vulnerable individuals from Ukraine; and (E) are public leaders, politicians, and diplomats; (2) stands with the people of Ukraine in support of their fight for freedom against the Russian Federation; (3) acknowledges the women who have risked their lives to travel through territory controlled by the Russian Federation, break siege tactics surrounding cities, and to ensure the safety of children and the elderly; (4) commends (A) the bordering countries of Ukraine, including Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Moldova, who are accommodating more than 6,000,000 refugees; and (B) the broader European Union for committing to provide support during the growing humanitarian crisis; (5) calls on all countries to ensure that aid provided in support of refugees fleeing Ukraine and internally displaced persons within Ukraine takes into account the needs of women and the gender-specific risks that women face in seeking safety; (6) acknowledges the important role women must play in resolving the conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2016) and required by the laws of the United States and regulations of Ukraine; (7) further calls on all countries to promote the meaningful inclusion of women in negotiations and decision-making at all levels, including security decisions; and (8) commits to supporting the women of Ukraine wherever they are as they fight back against tyranny and work for the free and democratic future of Ukraine.

Summary: This resolution recognizes, honors, and commends the women of Ukraine who have contributed to the fight for freedom and the defense of Ukraine. The resolution acknowledges the women who have risked their lives to travel through territory controlled by Russia, break siege tactics surrounding cities, and ensure the safety of children and the elderly. The resolution acknowledges the important role women must play in resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia as outlined in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 (2016) and required by the laws of the United States and regulations of Ukraine. The resolution further calls on all countries to promote the meaningful inclusion of women in negotiations and decision-making at all levels, including security decisions. Finally, the resolution commits to supporting the women of Ukraine wherever they are as they fight back against tyranny and work for the free and democratic future of Ukraine.