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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF UKRAINE
WHEREAS, on January 21, 1990, more than 400,000 Ukrainians called for unity and independence from the Soviet Union by forming a human chain stretching 400 miles between the cities of Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk. Many waved the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag that had been banned by the Soviet Union; and
WHEREAS, on August 24, 1991, a day still celebrated as Ukrainian Independence Day, the Ukrainian Parliament declared Independence from the Soviet Union. On December 1, 1991, more than 90 percent of Ukrainian citizens voted in a national referendum in support of independence. On December 26, 1991, Ukraine officially became independent from the Soviet Union; and
WHEREAS, in December of 1994, under a treaty called the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine agreed to dissolve its nuclear infrastructure in exchange for guarantees and promises from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia that Ukraine would remain as an independent and sovereign state; and
WHEREAS, in November of 2013, citing pressure from Russia, Ukrainian President Yanukovych refused to sign an agreement with the European Union to bring Ukraine into a free trade agreement. The decision sparked protests across Ukraine calling for the resignation of former President Yanukovych. Ahead of an impeachment vote, President Yanukovych fled to Russia, leading the Ukrainian Parliament to vote to remove Yanukovych from office and sign the European Union agreement; and
WHEREAS, in retaliation to Ukraine's movement towards development of a free economy in connection with the European Union and continued independence, the Russian Federation invaded the peninsula of Crimea in February and March of 2014. Russia's illegally annexed the region, held a sham referendum, and through hostility, claimed the territory. It remains the only time that a European nation has used military force to seize the territory of another country since World War II; and
WHERE...
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