Susan Collins: “before I begin my formal remarks, let me thank my neighbor from New Hampshire for organizing this bipartisan display of…”

“before I begin my formal remarks, let me thank my neighbor from New Hampshire for organizing this bipartisan display of support for Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, without justification, without provocation, Russia launched a full-scale, brutal invasion of its democratic neighbor Ukraine with missiles, air assaults, and army divisions. As John Adams said, ``Facts are stubborn things,'' and the facts of what happened on that terrible day are undeniable. It was Russia that started the war. Many thought that Ukraine had no chance against the perceived might of the Russian armed forces. However, the Ukrainians fought so bravely against that initial onslaught and, since then, the West has come together with speed and clarity of purpose to support Ukraine. Senator McConnell stated it best last week by saying: Russia's horrible invasion of Ukraine has had a unifying effect on the world's democracies. As a result of the invasion, two nations, Sweden and Finland, joined NATO; Eastern Europe is completing a pivot away from Russia's energy sources; and NATO allies are surging to the 2 percent GDP goal for defense spending. As for the brave Ukrainians, they pushed back the initial Russian invaders and are now doing their best to hold the line in eastern Ukraine, despite Russian soldiers, ammunition, and UAVs far outnumbering their Ukrainian counterparts.…”