2023 -- H 5823
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
CONDEMNING THE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE
Introduced By: Representatives J. Brien, Casey, Phillips, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Place,
Nardone, Fogarty, Messier, and Kennedy
Date Introduced: February 28, 2023
Referred To: House read and passed
WHEREAS, On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, its neighbor 1
to the southwest. This illegal and immoral act of war is the largest conventional warfare operation 2
in Europe since World War II ended in 1945; and 3
WHEREAS, Ukraine is a democracy of more than 40 million people led by its 4
Democratically-elected President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia is a nation of approximately 145 5
million led by Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, who has been in power in Russia since 2000 6
and is widely believed across the globe to be a tyrant; and 7
WHEREAS, For centuries, Ukraine and its people have suffered greatly due to actions 8
taken by Russia, their more powerful neighbor to the east. The Ukrainians declared their 9
independence in 1917, but were invaded and defeated by Lenin and his Russian forces in 1921. 10
From 1932 to 1933, the Ukrainian people suffered from a Stalin-induced famine, called 11
Holodomor in Ukraine, that according to a United Nations statement in 2003, killed 12
approximately 7-10 million people; and 13
WHEREAS, More recently, in 2014, Russia broke international law by invading and 14
conquering the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. As a result, Russia’s actions were condemned 15
by the United Nations and they were suspended by the G8, (Group of 8), which was an inter-16
governmental political forum from 1997 to 2014, consisting of the United States, Canada, United 17
Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, which met regularly and sought to foster 18
stability and economic prosperity across the globe. Tragically, as recent events show, Russian 19
President Vladimir Putin has no interest in these noble ideas. Since 2014, Putin and Russia also 20
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sowed rebellion and violence in the Donbas region of Southeastern Ukraine, in Russia's never-1
ending quest to de-stabilize the Ukrainian government and democracy in Ukraine; and 2
WHEREAS, According to the United Nations, more than 5.9 million people in Ukraine 3
have been displaced since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, with nearly 8 million refugees 4
from Ukraine having been recorded in neighboring countries across Europe, and a projected 17.6 5
million needing humanitarian assistance in 2023, due to the crisis in Ukraine. The most recent 6
Ukraine War casualty estimates come from the Norway Defense Chief, General Eirik 7
Kristoffersen, who on January 22, 2023, estimated that thus far in the war, Russia has suffered 8
approximately 180,000 dead and wounded, with Ukraine suffering 100,000 dead or wounded, and 9
30,000 civilian deaths; and 10
WHEREAS, Thankfully, the world's reaction has been swift and almost unanimous in its 11
condemnation of Putin’s actions. NATO is unified in its opposition to this invasion and is 12
supplying the Ukrainian government and military with much-needed weapons and humanitarian 13
goods. Other non-NATO nations are also assisting the Ukraine Government such as Sweden and 14
Finland. The United Nations has overwhelmingly condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine, and 15
the United States, the European Union and other allies across the globe are also enacting very 16
strict and biting economic sanctions against Russia, particularly in the banking and currency 17
sectors. Also, almost all of Europe and its Western allies have declared their territories to be no-18
fly zones for Russian civilian and military aircraft; now, therefore be it 19
RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby 20
declares that it vehemently opposes the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia and completely 21
supports the Rhode Island Ukrainian-American community in this time of great crisis; and be it 22
further 23
RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to 24
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, and 25
to St. Michael’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Church, 26
both of Woonsocket. 27
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