2022 -- S 2429 | |
======== | |
LC005304 | |
======== | |
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
____________ | |
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N | |
CONDEMNING THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE | |
| |
Introduced By: Senators Murray, Raptakis, Picard, Lombardo, Burke, Quezada, | |
Date Introduced: March 01, 2022 | |
Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration | |
1 | WHEREAS, On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, its neighbor |
2 | to the Southwest. This illegal and immoral act of war is the largest conventional warfare |
3 | operation in Europe since World War II ended in 1945; and |
4 | WHEREAS, Ukraine is a democracy of more than 40 million people led by its |
5 | Democratically-elected President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia is a nation of approximately 145 |
6 | million led by Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, who has been in power in Russia since 2000 |
7 | and is widely believed across the globe to be a tyrant; and |
8 | WHEREAS, For centuries, Ukraine and its people have suffered greatly due to actions |
9 | taken by Russia, their more powerful neighbor to the East. The Ukrainians declared their |
10 | independence in 1917, but were invaded and defeated by Lenin and his Russian forces in 1921. |
11 | From 1932 to 1933, the Ukrainian people suffered from a Stalin-induced famine, called |
12 | Holodomor in Ukraine, that according to a United Nations statement in 2003, killed |
13 | approximately 7-10 million people; and |
14 | WHEREAS, More recently, in 2014, Russia broke international law by invading and |
15 | conquering the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. As a result, Russia’s actions were condemned |
16 | by the United Nations and they were suspended by the G8, (Group of 8), which was an inter- |
17 | governmental political forum from 1997 to 2014, consisting of the United States, Canada, United |
18 | Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, which met regularly and sought to foster |
19 | stability and economic prosperity across the globe. Tragically, as recent events show, Russian |
20 | President Vladimir Putin has no interest in these noble ideas. Since 2014, Putin and Russia also |
| |
1 | sowed rebellion and violence in the Donbas region of Southeastern Ukraine, in Russia's never- |
2 | ending quest to de-stabilize the Ukrainian government and democracy in Ukraine; and |
3 | WHEREAS, Thus far, the United Nations has estimated that there have been thousands |
4 | of casualties, both killed and wounded, since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine began four days |
5 | ago. The United Nations also estimates that the invasion has created more than 400,000 refugees; |
6 | and |
7 | WHEREAS, Thankfully, the world's reaction has been swift and almost unanimous in its |
8 | condemnation of Putin’s actions. NATO is unified in its opposition to this invasion and is |
9 | supplying the Ukrainian government and military with much-needed weapons and humanitarian |
10 | goods. Other non-NATO nations are also assisting the Ukraine Government such as Sweden and |
11 | Finland. The United Nations has overwhelmingly condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine, and |
12 | the United States, the European Union and other allies across the globe are also enacting very |
13 | strict and biting economic sanctions against Russia, particularly in the banking and currency |
14 | sectors. Also, almost all of Europe and its Western allies have declared their territories to be no- |
15 | fly zones for Russian civilian and military aircraft; now, therefore be it |
16 | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby declares that it |
17 | vehemently opposes the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and this Senate completely |
18 | supports the Rhode Island Ukrainian-American community in this time of great crisis; and be it |
19 | further |
20 | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
21 | transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, and |
22 | to St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Church, |
23 | both of Woonsocket. |
======== | |
LC005304 | |
======== | |
| LC005304 - Page 2 of 2 |