1Expressing support for the democratic and European aspirations
2of the people of Ukraine and their right to choose their own
3future free of intimidation and fear.

4WHEREAS, A democratic, prosperous and independent Ukraine is
5in the national interest of the United States; and

6WHEREAS, Closer relations with the European Union (EU)
7through the signing of an Association Agreement will promote
8democratic values, good governance and economic opportunity in
9Ukraine; and

10WHEREAS, Millions of Ukrainian citizens support closer
11relations with Europe and the signing of an Association
12Agreement; and

13WHEREAS, The Government of Ukraine has declared integration
14with Europe a national priority and has made significant
15progress toward meeting the requirements for the Association
16Agreement; and

17WHEREAS, Ukraine has the sovereign right to enter into
18voluntary partnerships of its choosing, in keeping with its

1interests; and

2WHEREAS, Ukraine's closer relations with the EU do not
3threaten any other country and will benefit both Ukraine and its
4neighbors; and

5WHEREAS, On November 21, 2013, following several months of
6intense outside pressure, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych
7abruptly suspended negotiations on the Association Agreement one
8week before it was due to be signed at the EU's Eastern
9Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania; and

10WHEREAS, This reversal of stated government policy
11precipitated demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of
12Ukrainian citizens in Kyiv as well as in cities throughout the
13country; and

14WHEREAS, The demonstrators <-have been were overwhelmingly
15peaceful and have sought to exercise their constitutional rights
16to freely assemble and express their opposition to President
17Yanukovych's decision, as well as their support for greater
18government accountability and closer relations with Europe; and

19WHEREAS, On November 30, 2013, police violently dispersed
20peaceful demonstrators in Kyiv's Independence Square, resulting
21in many injuries and the arrest of several dozen individuals;
22and

23WHEREAS, On December 9, 2013, police raided three opposition
24media outlets and the headquarters of an opposition party; and

25WHEREAS, On December 11, 2013, despite President Yanukovych's
26statement the previous day that he would engage in talks with
27the opposition, police attempted to forcibly evict peaceful
28protesters from central locations in Kyiv; and

29WHEREAS, United States, European and other leaders, as well
30as three former presidents of Ukraine, <-have urged restraint,

1warned against the use of violence against peaceful protesters
2and called for dialogue with the opposition to resolve the
3current political and economic crisis; and

<-4WHEREAS, On January 16, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament
5passed, and President Yanukovych signed, legislation which
6severely limited the right of peaceful protest, constrained
7freedom of speech and the independent media and unduly
8restricted civil society organizations; and

9WHEREAS, The passage of these undemocratic measures and
10President Yanukovych's refusal to engage in substantive dialogue
11with opposition leaders precipitated several days of violence
12and resulted in several deaths and hundreds of injuries, as well
13as numerous allegations of police brutality; and

14WHEREAS, In the face of spreading demonstrations, Ukrainian
15Government representatives and opposition leaders entered into
16negotiations which on January 28, 2014, resulted in the
17resignation of the Prime Minister and his cabinet and the repeal
18of most of the antidemocratic laws from January 16, 2014; and

19WHEREAS, On February 20, 2014, Ukrainian security forces,
20including heavily armed snipers, fired on demonstrators in Kyiv,
21leaving dozens dead and the people of Ukraine reeling from the
22most lethal day of violence since the Soviet era, and many of
23President Yanukovych's political allies, including the mayor of
24Kyiv, resigned from his governing Party of Regions to protest
25the bloodshed; and

26WHEREAS, On February 22, 2014, the Ukrainian parliament found
27President Yanukovych unable to fulfill his duties, exercised its
28constitutional powers to remove him from office and set an
29election for May 25, 2014, to select his replacement; and

30WHEREAS, On March 2, 2014, Russian troops invaded the

1Ukrainian territory of Crimea, seizing control of the peninsula,
2border crossings, government and administrative buildings, key
3infrastructure and surrounding Ukrainian military bases; and

4WHEREAS, The military intervention by the Russian Federation
5in Crimea is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence
6and territorial integrity; and

7WHEREAS, On March 16, 2014, Crimea held a referendum on
8seceding from Ukraine and acceding to the Russian Federation,
9which violated the Ukrainian constitution, occurred under duress
10of Russian military intervention and was not recognized by the
11international community; and

12WHEREAS, On March 20, 2014, the Russian parliament voted to
13annex Crimea and Russian President Putin signed the treaty of
14accession annexing Crimea to the Russian Federation; and

15WHEREAS, On April 7, 2014, protesters occupied government
16buildings in Ukraine's eastern cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and
17Kharkiv; and

18WHEREAS, On April 18, 2014, the United States, Russia,
19Ukraine and the European Union agreed at talks in Geneva on
20steps to de-escalate the crisis in eastern Ukraine; and

21WHEREAS, On April 22, 2014, Ukraine's acting president
22ordered the relaunch of military operations against pro-Russian
23militants in the east after two men were found tortured to death
24in the Donetsk region; and

25WHEREAS, On May 25, 2014, Ukraine held a presidential
26election, but most polling stations in the east remained closed;
27and

28WHEREAS, Petro Poroshenko was elected President and vowed to
29bring "peace to a united and free Ukraine"; and

30WHEREAS, The Senate greatly values the warm and close

1relationship the United States has established with Ukraine
2since that country regained its independence in 1991; therefore
3be it

4RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5express support for the democratic and European aspirations of
6the people of Ukraine and their right to choose their own future
7free of intimidation and fear; and be it further

8RESOLVED, That the Senate call on the United States and the
9European Union to continue to work together to support a
10peaceful resolution to the crisis and to continue to support the
11desire of millions of Ukrainian citizens for closer relations
12with Europe through <-finalizing the signing of an Association
13Agreement, as well as for a democratic future; and be it further

<-14RESOLVED, That the Senate condemn the unprovoked and illegal
15Russian military seizure and annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea;
16and be it further

17RESOLVED, That the Senate urge the Government of Ukraine,
18Ukrainian opposition parties and all protesters to exercise the
19utmost restraint and avoid confrontation and call on the
20Government of Ukraine to live up to its international
21obligations and respect and uphold the democratic rights of its
22citizens, including the freedom of assembly and expression, as
23well as the freedom of the press; and be it further

<-24RESOLVED, That in the event of further violence by government
25authorities against peaceful protesters, the President of the
26United States and Congress consider targeted sanctions against
27those who authorize or engage in the use of force; and be it
28further

29RESOLVED, That the Senate urge all parties to engage in
30constructive, sustained dialogue in order to find a peaceful

1solution to Ukraine's current political and economic crisis; and
2be it further

3RESOLVED, That a copy of the resolution be transmitted to the
4President of the United States, the presiding officers of each
5house of Congress and each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.