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Risch, Cardin, Colleagues Reintroduce Ukraine Genocide Resolution

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), co-chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and author of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, today reintroduced a resolution recognizing Russian actions in Ukraine, which include forced deportations to Russia and the purposeful killing of Ukrainian civilians in mass atrocities, as constituting a genocide against the people of Ukraine. Joining Risch and Cardin are Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.),  Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

“One year into Putin’s brutal and unjustified war against Ukraine, it is beyond clear that Russia has been committing genocide,” said Risch. “I saw the atrocities firsthand last June during my visit to Ukraine, and each day there seems to be new reports on the inhumane actions committed by Russian soldiers against the innocent Ukrainian people. It is time the U.S. government call it what it is and work with our allies to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for this brutality. We must continue to do all we can to support the Ukrainian people as they fight for their survival.”

“Vladimir Putin and all those directing and implementing Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine are committing genocide and they must be held accountable. The latest reports of many thousands of Ukrainian children being permanently separated from their families underscores the depths of these war crimes,” said Cardin. “The Ukrainian people have shown their determination and ability to fend off the ongoing attacks, but innocent lives will continue to be lost until Mr. Putin feels consequences for his illegal and unprovoked attacks.”

This resolution:

  • Condemns those Russians responsible for committing acts of genocide against the people of Ukraine;
  • Calls on the United States, along with NATO and EU allies, to support the government of Ukraine to prevent further acts of Russian genocide against the Ukrainian people; and
  • Supports tribunals and international criminal investigations to hold Russian political leaders and military personnel accountable for a war of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
  • Urges the president to use Global Magnitsky sanctions on those responsible for or complicit in the Russian genocide against the Ukrainian people.
  • Describes the substantial and significant evidence of widespread, systematic actions to eliminate the next generation of Ukrainians, including targeting maternity wards at hospitals and forcibly transferring thousands of children to the Russian Federation or territories controlled by the Russian Federation.

This resolution was previously reported favorably to the full Senate during the 117th Congress. Text of the reintroduced resolution can be found here.

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