Ed Royce: “The Ukrainian people have had a long, turbulent history of struggle. It is important to remember that when that vote for…”

“The Ukrainian people have had a long, turbulent history of struggle. It is important to remember that when that vote for independence came, it passed overwhelmingly across Ukraine. For me, I think the most memorable point of that trip was standing with Mr. Engel in the synagogue--it was Passover--adjacent to the largest community center, Jewish community center in all of Europe. Eliot Engel, whose four grandparents all came from Ukraine, spoke to the hopes that the American people have for a Ukraine which is a Ukraine that embraces tolerance, political pluralism, freedom, a Ukraine in which the persecution of people is a thing of the past but in which the future lies with the democratic ideals that we share, a Ukraine independent, a Ukraine free of threat, free of outside influence. These are the hopes embodied in this resolution because the Ukrainian people have withstood these enormous pressures. They have endured this great suffering. They know there are many challenges still to overcome before they can rest secure. But the Ukrainians that we spoke with told us that among the most important things sustaining them throughout this difficult time is the knowledge that we in the United States stand with them.…”