WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sent a letter Thursday to President Barack Obama, urging him to carry a message to world leaders at the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Warsaw, Poland: success in Ukraine and resistance to Russian aggression are in the best interest of all NATO member counties.  

“You have been a strong champion of ensuring Ukraine’s future as a democratic and sovereign nation, bolstering NATO preparedness in response to Russian aggression, and maintaining transatlantic unity regarding sanctions against Russia,” the senators wrote. “Yet amid the brazen failure of Russia to abide by the Minsk Agreement and internal political turmoil within the European Union, it is critical for NATO to reaffirm its support for Ukraine’s success and the fundamental democratic values at stake.

“Ukraine has faced an unprecedented set of challenges while attempting to shake off decades of endemic corruption and mismanagement. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not only ignored key terms of the Minsk Agreement, but also continued to escalate the conflict and undermine decades of established international norms. Such behavior is both reckless and deeply troubling,” the senators continued. 

Full text of the senators’ letter is below:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We understand that the future security and success of Ukraine will be a prominent topic at the upcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw and write in strong support of this focus. You have been a strong champion of ensuring Ukraine’s future as a democratic and sovereign nation, bolstering NATO preparedness in response to Russian aggression, and maintaining transatlantic unity regarding sanctions against Russia. Yet amid the brazen failure of Russia to abide by the Minsk Agreement and internal political turmoil within the European Union, it is critical for NATO to reaffirm its support for Ukraine’s success and the fundamental democratic values at stake.

Ukraine has faced an unprecedented set of challenges while attempting to shake off decades of endemic corruption and mismanagement. Not only has it pursued long-neglected reforms, but it has had to do so while fighting a costly and ongoing war with Russian-backed separatists. Yet, despite these significant challenges, Ukrainians have taken historic steps to reform their economic, political, and judicial systems. They have taken important measures to improve their ties to the West and to meet the terms of the Minsk Agreement. Moreover, Ukraine’s leaders have notably taken these steps while adhering to fundamental democratic principles. Unquestionably it is in American and European interests to see a peaceful democratic Ukraine succeed.

At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not only ignored key terms of the Minsk Agreement, but also continued to escalate the conflict and undermine decades of established international norms. He maintains Russia’s illegal seizure of Crimea and continues provocations against NATO allies, including aggressive military and propaganda strategies, and continues to occupy Georgian territory and support separatists in Moldova. NATO fighters scrambled 160 times last year to intercept Russian violations of Baltic airspace, up from 140 such incidents in 2014. Such incursions have not been limited to the Baltics, with NATO jets intercepting Russian jets throughout Europe. These actions are often enabled by malicious cyber-enabled activities that violate international norms and extend Russia’s reach well beyond the traditional battlefield. Such behavior is both reckless and deeply troubling.

As such, we applaud your efforts to bolster NATO amid such Russian provocations. The announcement of a rotational deployment to Eastern Europe along with the tripling of the NATO Response Force helped reassure our NATO partners most vulnerable to Russia.

Your support for military training and supplies for Ukraine has been equally important. And while not a NATO member, success in Ukraine is certainly in NATO’s interests as well. We hope you will reaffirm this sentiment at the Warsaw Summit.

Sincerely,

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY
United States Senator

RICHARD J. DURBIN
United States Senator

JEANNE SHAHEEN
United States Senator

BARBARA BOXER
United States Senator

TIM KAINE
United States Senator