WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement commemorating the third anniversary of Russia’s total invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022:
“Three years ago, more than 100,000 Russian troops invaded Ukraine, launching the largest war of aggression in Europe since World War II. I was visiting NATO and U.S. troops in Lithuania the week that the war began, and as I flew back from Europe, I prayed for the success of the brave Ukrainian fighters. Analysts believed it was only a matter of days until Kyiv fell and Putin was victorious.
“Instead, for three years, the courageous Ukrainian people have defended their homeland, their freedom, and their democracy. Backed by a global coalition of more than 50 nations, they have fought and inflicted massive losses on the Russian aggressors, the largest army in Europe. They have endured unimaginable hardship, the crippling of their economy, and the atrocities of too many war crimes to count.
“President Zelenskyy has ably led his country, and his people have fought with incredible bravery. Tragically, President Trump appears poised to give Putin a victory at the negotiating table that he has been unable to secure on the battlefield. He has repeated Russian propaganda, picked fights with Zelenskyy, and seems set on imposing a peace “deal” that will effectively surrender Ukraine to Putin. This strategic mistake would embolden our adversaries, waving a flag for Russia to continue marching across eastern Europe, for China to adopt a similar playbook for Taiwan, and for Iran and North Korea to learn that by partnering with this axis of autocrats, they can defeat the West. If he does abandon Ukraine, Trump will go down as the biggest betrayer of our interests and our ideals of this century.
“On this anniversary, it is time for every American advocate of freedom, no matter their party, to tell President Trump that he must not force Ukraine into a weak peace that will not hold. He must instead make clear to Putin that we will stand behind Ukraine in this war, in partnership with our European allies, who are offering to take on more of the burden of defending Ukraine and to join us in securing the peace. That is “peace through strength,” that is how we bring this war to a just end, and how we live up to the values that have long defined us as Americans.”
Senator Coons is the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.