VIDEO: US Senator Chris Coons on 1 Year Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released a video statement today commemorating the one-year anniversary of Russia’s escalation of its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Senator Coons is Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“One year ago today, Vladimir Putin sent thousands and thousands of Russian troops across the border into Ukraine in a broad-spectrum, full-scale aggression, launching the largest land war in Europe since the Second World War. At the time, I was in Lithuania on a congressional delegation visiting American and NATO troops. We, just before that, visited U.S. and NATO troops training in Poland and attended a European-wide security conference in Munich, where dozens of European and American leaders met with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, contemplating the possibility that Russia would, in fact, broadly, further invade Ukraine. As we flew home a year ago today, knowing that missiles and jet fighters were flying in the air just a few hundred miles away, we were thinking about the brave Ukrainian defenders of Kyiv and praying that they would be successful. Demonstrating incredible courage, ingenuity, and agility, Ukrainian troops and civilians held out and fought back against the Russian invaders and defended Kyiv. The battle for Kyiv and later battles for cities like Kharkiv and Kherson will be studied for decades as examples of how an outnumbered but flexible force beat back a more numerous, sophisticated invading force.
“The war in Ukraine still grinds on today in the south and east. It’s important we remember that it really began eight years ago in 2014, when Russia first invaded the Crimea and Donbas. A key lesson from Putin and how he’s conducted aggressive wars in Chechnya and Syria is that he will not give up. He won’t stop attacking civilians. He won’t stop committing war crimes, and we cannot stop either—pushing back against his aggression. I think the strongest chapter of President Biden’s leadership has been uniting NATO and partner nations around the world to show clearly that we will impose sanctions, that we will welcome refugees, that we will provide critical and needed funding for economic and military aid to Ukraine.
“So far, we’ve delivered more than $50 billion, and we here in the Senate have fought hard to appropriate $50 billion more. In November, I traveled with Senator Portman to Poland and to Ukraine. We visited with American troops in Poland and with Ukrainian refugees, and in Kyiv, we had the chance to present President Zelenskyy with the Liberty Medal from our National Constitution Center. We witnessed firsthand the courage and leadership of the Ukrainian people. The bravery that they’ve shown in fighting back against Russian aggression is awe-inspiring, and we got to see directly how our assistance is making a difference in the fight on the front lines and in providing needed aid and support to millions of Ukrainian refugees. More than 40 countries around the world are helping Ukraine, whether by imposing sanctions on Russia, providing critically needed military aid, or welcoming refugees.
“We have to continue to stand by Ukraine. Their fight is our fight. They are on the front lines of freedom, for the world, for this century, and I am determined that we will continue this fight to Ukrainian victory.”
