On the recordFebruary 16, 2023
Mr. President, I rise today to offer some words in support of Ukraine as we approach the 1-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. Although the U.S. Government made public warnings about this premeditated attack for months in advance, it is still, frankly, shocking, in retrospect, when you think about what has occurred over the last 12 months: Russia trying to expand its borders through invasion. Now, maybe we were naive to think that this practice went by the wayside after World War II. It was common practice for powers for centuries beforehand, but the world has seen a level of brutality and devastation that is hard to contemplate. How unthinkable it was that in 2022 a major power would launch a land war, a war of aggression, in the middle of Europe. Now, pundits and analysts, right, said that Kyiv would fall within a matter of days. That was the expectation. But the Ukrainian people had different plans. They fought back bravely, and we watched in awe--we still watch in awe--as President Zelenskyy stayed in Kyiv and rallied his country in defiance of Russia's attempt to recolonize Ukraine. The world responded, practically overnight, thanks to President Biden, who saw this coming, who rallied the world to Ukraine's defense, getting them the aid that they needed, especially in those early days, and treating Russia like a global pariah. It was clear from the beginning that Russia's aggressions was not going to be able to be rationalized or minimized.…
Source
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