Peace Talks with Ukraine

Floor Speech

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Mr. VINDMAN. Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the recent news on Ukraine: Zelenskyy is set to meet Putin. Putin must immediately agree to a 30-day cease-fire. To force that, the United States and President Trump must increase the pressure on Putin.

This is not a regional fight. Ukraine's sovereignty is a U.S. national security issue. It is also a humanitarian crisis. As of 2023, the U.S. State Department had documented the abduction of approximately 20,000 Ukrainian children. That number has only increased. The program that was keeping track of those children has recently been cut.

These Russian abductions represent a deliberate effort to eliminate Ukrainian national identity, destroy family ties, and are a specific element of a genocide crime under international criminal law. The Russians claim, further, that 700,000 children have been seized. None of this can stand.

As someone who has traveled over a dozen times to Ukraine in order to investigate war crimes, I know how important it is that we make a stand now, not later. We must uphold our American values by seeking peace in the region and demanding the immediate return of Ukraine's missing children.

We will see this week whether Mr. Putin shows up for peace talks with Ukraine in Turkiye or remains an international pariah and coward.

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