© Alex Brandon
This Tuesday, March 1, 2022 photo shows the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday “firmly, unconditionally, proudly and earnestly” passed a resolution supporting Ukraine that was overwhelmingly backed.
Lawmakers said history was watching the way the world responds as Ukrainians fight to save their Western-style democracy from Russian invasion. With increasing urgency, many congressmen said more needed to be done to help Ukraine and cut off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war.
In the Senate, Republican Lindsey Graham also introduced a resolution that would support Ukraine’s lawsuit in an international tribunal alleging that Putin and his “cronies” have committed war crimes.
“The camera of history is capturing us all today,” Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said during a debate on the House floor.
He urged his colleagues to provide a unanimous vote to overwhelmingly demonstrate “whether we stood up and stood up to protect freedom, or not.”
The resolution was reached following the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag were present in the House of Representatives during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, a display of bipartisanship in the Congress, frequently divided.
Although the resolutions are not binding, Congress is working quickly to produce a supplemental funding package for at least $6.4 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Lawmakers warned that the war was taking a disturbing turn as Russian soldiers surrounded Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities, and citizens took up arms to stop the invasion.
The resolution approved by the House of Representatives states that it “firmly, unconditionally, proudly and fervently supports the Ukrainian people in their struggle once morest the authoritarian regime of Putin.”
It calls for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine, pledges US support for the Ukrainian resistance, and pledges to provide “significant additional aid and humanitarian relief to Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian aggression.” ”
Only three members of the lower house of all those who voted opposed the resolution: Republicans Paul Gosar, Thomas Massie and Matt Rosendale.
The Senate unanimously approved a similar measure in support of Ukraine last month.
Graham said Wednesday that he will introduce a new resolution to hold Putin and those around him accountable for the attack on Ukraine in international courts.
“Enough of the murders, enough of the destruction and carnage,” Graham said Wednesday at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
On Putin, Graham noted that “the world has let him get away with too much for too long.”
A former military lawyer, Graham is filing a measure that would support Ukraine’s lawsuit in an international tribunal for Putin’s war crimes. Accompanying him on the initiative is Ukrainian-born MP Victoria Spartz, who has spoken out passionately in favor of the United States playing a role in saving her country.
Congress largely backs Biden’s strategy of imposing economic sanctions on Russia, though lawmakers are pushing for more. Many want Biden to suspend Russian oil and gas exports to the United States as a way to undermine Putin’s economy and deprive him of resources. Lawmakers from both parties want to send Ukraine more ammunition, anti-aircraft weapons and other military and relief aid.
