UCCA: Russian Sanctions Are Here To Stay

 

The following was submitted on August 2, 2017. 

New York, NY (UCCA) – Earlier today, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest representative body of Americans of Ukrainian descent, issued a statement following the enactment of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA (H.R. 3364). Having previously advocated for meaningful assistance programs such as the Ukraine Freedom Support Act (2014), the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (2015), and the Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act (2016), the UCCA had repeatedly called upon their fellow supporters of Ukraine to contact their elected Representatives to pass this critical legislation.

In the statement, the UCCA welcomes the “codifying [of] all existing sanctions imposed on Russia for its illegal annexation of Crimea and its military invasion of Ukraine,” as well as the “strong, bipartisan support for Ukraine” demonstrated by the U.S. Congress in passing CAATSA by overwhelming, veto-proof majorities: 98-2 in the Senate and 419-3 in the House. Responding to the two signing statements issued by the White House, the UCCA’s statement called upon President Trump to “stand firm with the United States Congress and openly denounce Russia's attacks on American democracy, our NATO partners, as well as Russia’s invasion and occupation of America’s strategic ally, Ukraine.”

The statement concludes with a call to “supply Ukraine with antitank systems and other defensive weaponry, as already authorized by Congress.” Since the beginning of 2017, there have been nearly 2,000 recorded attacks by Russian forces across the 'ceasefire' line in Ukraine, with dozens of civilians killed this year alone, bringing Russia’s death toll in Ukraine to over 10,000. 

Source: Ukrainian Congress Committee of America