(In this appeal to Congress, over 35 artists, activists, and scholars call for US funding to defend #Ukraine.)
Together we call upon #Congress to do the right thing.
Ukrainians are fighting for their existence. On territory that Russia occupies, it tortures Ukrainian citizens, kidnaps Ukrainian children and murders Ukrainian leaders. On territory Russia can reach with its weapons, it strikes civilians and rescue workers.
Russian leaders say openly that their goal is the destruction of the Ukrainian state and the elimination of Ukrainians as a people. Russian propagandists threaten genocide almost every day. Right now, #Russia is using missiles and glide bombs to destroy the ancient and beautiful city of Kharkiv, once home to 1.5 million people, just as Russia destroyed Mariupol, Aleppo and Grozny.
Ukrainians are also fighting for our safety and for everyone’s freedom. By resisting Russian dictatorship, they show that democracy can defend itself. By defending their borders, they are protecting the international order and holding off chaos. By fighting #Russia alone, they protect Europe. By showing how hard offensive operations are, Ukrainians make a Chinese war in the Pacific less likely.
By fighting a conventional war against a nuclear power, they are making nuclear proliferation and nuclear war less likely.
The Ukrainian armed forces are defending basic American interests. They are doing things that Americans cannot do for themselves. By absorbing the entire #Russia n attack, they are making other wars in Europe impossible. They deter China without in any way provoking Beijing.
By showing that a nuclear power can be resisted, they teach other countries that they need not build nuclear weapons. For two years, Ukrainians have protected us as well as their own people.
Most Americans understand this, and want to help Ukraine. And most elected representatives do, too.
It has been more than 470 days since Congress passed legislation to support Ukraine. That is most of the time since Russia invaded in February 2022. During the period of our inaction, Russia has reconstituted its army. It is preparing a new offensive, testing Ukraine across the front and illegally using CS gas to drive Ukrainian soldiers from their trenches.
If Russia breaks through, this will be our fault. And then we will understand what we have lost. Everything that Ukraine is doing for us can be reversed. If Ukraine is defeated, we will find ourselves in a far more dangerous world. It will be a world where we can expect war in Europe and war in Asia. A world in which Russia can cut off the food to the Near East and Africa that Ukraine now supplies.
#Ukraine is fighting a battle so we don't have to. We must stand with them as allies and send them the aid they need to stop #Putin from going further. #PassUkraineAidNow#DemCast
SpeakerJohnson's own district is home to 2 military bases, making the Ukraine aid decision deeply personal. Inaction risks sending these troops into a European conflict. #PassUkraineAidNOW#DemocracyNotAutocracy