A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor, should serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the people of Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin's brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine once again threatens the existence of the Ukrainian people, while exacerbating the problems of global hunger.

Bill: 118-sres-472
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2023-11-27
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-11-27
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S5599-5600)

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-11-27
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>This resolution </p><ul><li>condemns Vladimir Putin's illegal war in Ukraine and his weaponization of hunger;</li><li>calls upon Vladimir Putin and the Russian Armed Forces to immediately cease their attacks on Ukrainian civilians, to withdraw, and to respect Ukraine's independence;</li><li>remembers the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) of 1932-1933 and extends its deepest sympathies to the victims, survivors, and families of this tragedy;</li><li>condemns the systematic violations of human rights of the Ukrainian people by the Soviet Union; and</li><li>supports the continuing efforts of the people of Ukraine to defend themselves against Russian aggression.</li></ul>

tv_txt: III 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 472 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 27, 2023 Mr. Kaine (for himself and Mr. Wicker ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932–1933, known as the Holodomor, should serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the people of Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war against Ukraine once again threatens the existence of the Ukrainian people, while exacerbating the problems of global hunger.

Whereas Russia’s illegal, premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine— (1) violates international law; (2) undermines the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity; and (3) includes extensive, systematic, and flagrant atrocities against the people of Ukraine; Whereas Vladimir Putin’s repeated public rejections of a separate Ukrainian identity have made the war an existential fight for the Ukrainian Government and people; Whereas Moscow's continuing war against Ukraine has weaponized food through intentional and concerted attacks on the Ukrainian agricultural sector and energy grid, resulting in elevated global grain prices that disproportionately impact low- and middle-income countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, which are dependent on imported Ukrainian wheat; Whereas Moscow’s weaponization of hunger has further exacerbated an unprecedented global food crisis, with more than 345,000,000 people around the world facing acute levels of food insecurity in 2023; Whereas, on July 17, 2023, Russia unilaterally withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which since its inception in July 2022 resulted in the export of more than 32,000,000 metric tons of Ukrainian grain, including grain exports to developing countries vulnerable to food insecurity; Whereas Putin’s attitude towards, and actions in, Ukraine evoke comparisons with the totalitarian government of the former Soviet Union, which was responsible for the Ukrainian Famine of 1932–1933; Whereas Ukraine is a major global exporter of agricultural products that are critical to global food supplies, including wheat, corn, barley, and sunflower; Whereas Russia’s illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Mariupol, its assault on Kherson and Odessa, its use of naval mines in the Black Sea and land mines in Ukraine’s agricultural areas, sustained attacks against Ukraine's energy grid, and the destruction of Ukrainian export terminals and transportation infrastructure have severely constrained Ukraine’s ability to export grain; Whereas, Senate Resolution 435, which was passed by the Senate on October 3, 2018, commemorated the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor and recognized the Soviet Union’s role in perpetrating this genocide against the Ukrainian people; Whereas 2022–2023 marks the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932–1933, which is also known as the Holodomor; Whereas in 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainian people perished at the will of the totalitarian Stalinist Government of the Soviet Union, which perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine in an effort to break the nation’s resistance to collectivization and communist occupation; Whereas the Government of the Soviet Union deliberately confiscated grain harvests and starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children by a policy of forced collectivization that sought to destroy the nationally conscious movement for independence; Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of Ukraine sealed to prevent anyone from escaping the manmade starvation, and to prevent the delivery of any international food aid that would provide relief to the starving; Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to uncover the scale of the famine, including Canadian wheat expert Andrew Cairns who visited Ukraine in 1932, and was told that there was no grain because the government had collected so much grain and exported it to England and Italy , while Joseph Stalin simultaneously denied food aid to the people of Ukraine; Whereas nearly 25 percent of Ukraine’s rural population perished or were forced into exile due to the induced starvation and the entire nation suffered from the consequences of the prolonged famine; Whereas noted correspondents of the time were refuted for their courage in depicting and reporting on the forced famine in Ukraine, including Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm Muggeridge, who wrote [The peasants] will tell you that many have already died of famine, and that many are dying every day; that thousands have been shot by the Government and hundreds of thousands exiled … ; Whereas title V of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1986 ( Public Law 99–180 ; 99 Stat. 1157), which was enacted on December 13, 1985, established the Commission on the Ukraine Famine to conduct a study of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932–1933 in order to expand the world’s knowledge of the famine and provide the American public with a better understanding of the Soviet system by revealing the Soviet role in it; Whereas, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival documents became available that confirmed the deliberate and premeditated deadly nature of the famine and that exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet government against the Ukrainian people; Whereas Raphael Lemkin, who devoted his life to the development of legal concepts and norms for containing mass atrocities and whose tireless advocacy swayed the United Nations in 1948 to adopt the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, authored an essay in 1953 entitled Soviet Genocide in the Ukraine , which highlighted the classic example of Soviet genocide characterizing it not simply a case of mass murder. It is a case of genocide, of destruction, not of individuals only, but of a culture and a nation ; Whereas Ukraine’s law Number 376–V, Law of Ukraine on the Starvation in Ukraine of 1932–1933 , which was enacted on November 28, 2006, gave official recognition to the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people; Whereas, on October 13, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law Public Law 109–340 , which authorized the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932–1933 , and the Holodomor Memorial was officially dedicated in November 2015; Whereas the Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian communities in the United States and worldwide continue their efforts to secure greater international awareness and understanding of the 1932–1933 tragedy; and Whereas victims of the Holodomor of 1932–1933 were commemorated by Ukrainian communities around the globe and in Ukraine throughout November 2022: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1) condemns Vladimir Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war in Ukraine and his repeated public rejections of the existence of a Ukrainian people and a sovereign Ukrainian State; (2) condemns Vladimir Putin's weaponization of hunger, which has increased global food prices and food insecurity in the world; (3) calls upon Vladimir Putin and the Russian Armed Forces— (A) to immediately cease their attacks on Ukrainian civilians; (B) to withdraw all troops from Ukraine; and (C) to fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity; (4) solemnly remembers the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932–1933, and extends its deepest sympathies to the victims, survivors, and families of this tragedy; (5) condemns the systematic violations of human rights, including the freedom of self-determination and freedom of speech of the Ukrainian people by the Government of the Soviet Union; (6) recognizes 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 ; (7) encourages dissemination of information regarding the Holodomor of 1932–1933 in order to expand the world’s knowledge of this manmade tragedy; and (8) supports the continuing efforts of the people of Ukraine to defend themselves against Russian aggression, to work toward ensuring democratic principles, a free economy, and full respect for human rights in order to enable Ukraine to achieve its full potential in accordance with the desires of the Ukrainian people and to deepen the partnership between Ukraine, the United States, and all democratic nations.