Ukraine is the Scrimmage Line for Liberty

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for holding this bipartisan Special Order because we should in a bipartisan way support the nation of Ukraine in a multilateral way, but we must also support a strategy of victory.

Putin is evil. He is a war criminal. He kidnapped 35,000 children, killed women and children, and bombed hospitals. He views himself as a reincarnation of Peter the Great. Moldova is next, Georgia is next, and the Baltic is next. This is a conflict not just about territory, it is a confrontation between good versus evil, between the forces of democracy and the shadows of autocracy.

By standing with Ukraine, we reaffirm our commitment to the fundamental principles of freedom and self-determination. Nevertheless, we have to provide Ukraine not just with a blank check but with a strategy for victory. That is why we call on the administration not just to support more security assistance, but also to reverse course on a misguided sanctions strategy that has failed.

The G-7 oil price cap strategy is a weak approach to depriving Putin of the funding that he needs. So, yes, Congress should support security assistance, but we should also support a sanction strategy that will actually prevent Putin from selling fossil energy to China and India and other parts of the world. The price cap is not working. Russian crude is selling over the price cap. It is not enforceable. We need to eliminate the general license in the sanctions on Russian banks so that no energy-related transactions that are funding this brutal aggression against Ukraine can finance this war.

There is a lesson here that deterrence requires toughness, and when you remove sanctions like this administration removed on Nord Stream 2 and when you are not tough on sanctions, that invites further aggression.

So, yes, security assistance, and, yes, this Congress is prepared to act, but we want a strategy for victory for the Ukrainian freedom fighters. That requires depriving Putin of the very financial support that is funding this war of aggression, and that is energy sales. That is why we want a revisiting of the sanctions strategy.

So with that, we must expedite delivery of lethal aid to Ukraine, reinforcing their ability to defend themselves and deter further aggression. In doing so, we will uphold the values of democracy and freedom while safeguarding the security and stability of our partner Ukraine.

The cost is nothing compared to what the cost would be if there was an invasion of a NATO Article V partner where U.S. troops would be on the ground. So let's take the fight to Putin now. Let's end this war by depriving him of the funding that he definitely needs to prosecute this war.

Madam Speaker, remember that weakness invites aggression. There are broader implications of this conflict. A further escalation, potentially drawing NATO into a direct ground conflict, would be highly costly. It would be much more costly than what we are talking about here. Providing Ukraine with support now is not only an investment in Ukraine but a critical step in preventing a larger and more devastating conflict that would require the involvement of U.S. troops on the ground, and it sends a signal to Beijing.

Beijing is watching. Preventing and deterring Beijing from a cross- strait invasion is a dramatic return on investment. Let's pursue a strategy of victory, and let's get tough on sanctions.

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