Russian Sanctions Interrupted: The UCCA Responds

The following statement was submitted by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), a non-profit, non-partisan community-based organization that has represented the interests of Ukrainians in the United States since 1940. 

New York (UCCA) – Following the United States’ second missed deadline for enacting additional sanctions against Putin’s Russia as stipulated by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), a State Department spokesperson explained that the United States has decided that additional sanctions on specific entities or individuals, in the view of this administration, do “not need to be imposed because the legislation is, in fact, serving as a deterrent." In the view of the current administration, this legislation, in and of itself and without further action, exists “to press Russia to address our concerns related to its aggression in Ukraine, interference in other nations’ domestic affairs and abuses of human rights."

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest grassroots representation of Americans of Ukrainian descent, is outraged by the weak actions of yet another presidential administration unwilling to act upon the tools given to them by Congress. CAATSA was passed by both Houses of Congress by an overwhelming and veto-proof majority – 98-2 in the Senate and 419-3 in the House – conveying the strong, bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States. UCCA welcomed the news of this law’s signing, having repeatedly called upon supporters of Ukraine in this country to contact their elected Representatives to pass this critical legislation necessary to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

When President Trump signed CAATSA into law, his signing statement signaled that he was not necessarily bound by the letter of the law. With respect, refusing to punish Putin’s Russia is not an example of a “strong America” policy, nor a deterrent the Kremlin's most-recent illegal actions and subversive methods.  UCCA calls upon President Trump to openly denounce Russia's attacks on American democracy, our NATO partners, as well as Russia’s invasion and illegal occupation of America’s strategic ally, Ukraine. Ukraine and other countries bordering Russia do not have the liberty of standing by while America remains indecisive. Additional sanctions, as authorized initially in 2014, and all other means of punishment against Putin’s criminal regime must be aggressively implemented, before a contentious 2018 election season renders our government paralyzed again.