H. Res. 348 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
October 20, 2015. 
Whereas after President Yanukovych had fled Kyiv, Russian 
President Vladimir Putin ordered the forcible and illegal 
occupation of Crimea in March 2014; 
Whereas Russian-led separatists have forcibly seized large 
areas of Ukraine and continue their attacks on Ukraine’s 
forces; 
Whereas the Russian Federation has continued to engage in 
relentless political, economic, and military aggression to 
subvert the independence and violate the territorial integ-
rity of Ukraine; 
Whereas the United States has supported the democratically 
elected Government of Ukraine, which represents the will 
of the people of Ukraine, and Congress has passed mul-
tiple pieces of legislation to provide support to Ukraine; 
Whereas Congress passed the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democ-
racy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 
(Public Law 113–95), which authorized loan guarantees 
for the Government of Ukraine; 
Whereas Congress passed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act 
of 2014 (Public Law 113–272), which authorized the Ad-
ministration to provide Ukraine’s Government with sup-
port to facilitate necessary reforms, and stated that it is
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United States policy to assist the Government of Ukraine 
in restoring its sovereignty and territorial integrity; 
Whereas in September 2014, a cease-fire agreement was bro-
kered between Ukraine, Russia, and Russian-led separat-
ists, but the agreement was never fully implemented; 
Whereas in February 2015, an additional cease-fire, known 
as the Minsk Implementation Agreement or Minsk 2, was 
agreed upon; 
Whereas the United States has assisted in many elections 
around the world, including Ukraine’s Presidential elec-
tion in May 25, 2014, to ensure that international elec-
tion standards are upheld; 
Whereas early parliamentary elections were held on October 
26, 2014, but 29 of the 450 seats in parliament were not 
filled due to the inability to hold elections in areas con-
trolled by separatists; 
Whereas, despite the disenfranchisement of people living in 
separatist-controlled areas, international election observ-
ers declared the parliamentary elections in the rest of the 
country to have met international standards; 
Whereas Ukraine and Russia are participating States of the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and 
party to its commitments, including the 1990 Copen-
hagen Document which states that States ‘‘will respect 
each other’s right freely to choose and develop, in accord-
ance with international human rights standards, their po-
litical, social, economic and cultural systems’’ and that 
‘‘free elections that will be held at reasonable intervals by 
secret ballot or by equivalent free voting procedure, under 
conditions which ensure in practice the free expression of
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the opinion of the electors in the choice of their rep-
resentatives’’; 
Whereas the next local elections are scheduled to take place 
in Ukraine on October 25, 2015; 
Whereas these elections are critical to continued legislative 
and constitutional reform in Ukraine; 
Whereas the Russian-led separatists in eastern Ukraine con-
tinue to refuse to implement Ukrainian law and to permit 
Ukrainian authorities to conduct elections in the areas 
they control and have therefore made free and fair elec-
tions in those areas impossible; 
Whereas Ukraine’s government has therefore been forced to 
postpone the local elections in those areas; and 
Whereas the United States is supporting efforts to promote 
citizen engagement in the constitutional reform process, 
educating voters, and election monitoring: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) strongly supports the right of the people of 
Ukraine to freely elect their government and determine 
their future; 
(2) urges the Administration to expedite assistance 
to Ukraine to facilitate the political, economic, and social 
reforms necessary for free and fair elections that meet 
international standards; and 
(3) condemns attempts on the part of outside 
forces, specifically the Government of Russia, its agents
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and supporters, to interfere in Ukraine’s elections, in-
cluding through intimidation, violence, or coercion. 
Attest: 
Clerk.