Official Congressional Record
Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the war in Ukraine and to say something that has been a long time coming: The tide is turning against Vladimir Putin. For more than 4 years, Russia has waged a brutal, unprovoked war of aggression against a free and sovereign Ukraine. Putin bet that Kyiv would fall in days. He bet that the West would fracture in response. And when that didn't work, he bet that Ukraine would break in a few months. He was wrong on every count, and today he finds himself in a moment of weakness. President Trump promised peace through strength, and his strategy is working. By restoring American deterrence, by driving our allies to historic levels of defense investment, and by pairing diplomacy with the credible threat of crushing economic pressure, President Trump has changed the trajectory of this war. And Putin--Putin is weaker today, and Ukraine is stronger. And now--now--is the time for America to lean into this strategic opportunity and to drive Putin's war machine into the ground. Let's consider the facts. For the first time since 2023, Ukrainian forces have retaken more territory than Russia has gained. The Institute for the Study of War assesses that the war's momentum is shifting in Ukraine's favor, that Russia's spring and summer offensive has stalled, and that Russia cannot recruit soldiers fast enough to replace its losses--losses that are estimated to be between 30,000 to 40,000 per month. Since President Trump returned to office in January 2025, Russia has suffered approximately 130 casualties for every square kilometer of Ukrainian territory gained. And as you see in chart 2, the red area circled in green here is all that Russia has been able to conquer in the last 18 months. This is not a Russian war machine on the march; it is a war machine that is grinding itself to dust. How has Ukraine done it? Well, they have done it through courage and ingenuity and innovation. Ukrainian drone operators now dominate the battlefield, extending the kill zone more than 10 miles beyond the frontlines. Ukraine has built, under fire, one of the most sophisticated defense technology sectors in the world. Ukraine produced over 3.5 million drones last year and is now deploying more than 10,000--10,000--drones daily. Last week, at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, which I hosted, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed that most Russian recruits arriving on the frontlines survive an estimated 20 to 30 minutes before they are killed or wounded, with drones causing over 80 percent of those battlefield casualties. Our own warfighters--our own American warfighters--are beginning to implement the lessons learned on the Ukrainian battlefield, and I applaud Secretary Hegseth and Army Secretary Driscoll for leaning into these innovations--innovations that our Armed Forces require. Ukraine has also proven it can strike deep into Russia itself. Russian oil refineries, airfields, ammunitions depots, and logistics hubs hundreds of miles from the border are no longer sanctuaries. The war Putin started is now arriving on his own doorstep. And this matters. This matters to us here in America for a simple reason: Ukraine has demonstrated beyond any doubt its ability and its willingness to defend its own sovereignty. The Ukrainian people are not--and I repeat, are not--asking American soldiers to fight for them; they are asking for the tools to finish the job themselves. As someone who wore our Nation's uniform, I understand the difference, and we have a critical opportunity to seize this momentum, to increase the pressure on Russia, to halt its unprovoked aggression. No one has worked harder to end this war than President Trump. And, let's face it, Ukraine is not a perfect partner. Corruption remains a serious problem, and it should be held accountable to the reform commitments it has already made. President Zelenskyy has shown a willingness to come to the table at a time when Putin has rejected peace and continued firing on Ukrainian civilians. You had better believe--you had better believe that Beijing is watching our next move very closely. If unbridled aggression pays in Europe and if unbridled aggression pays in the Middle East, it will be attempted in the Taiwan Strait. That is one of the many reasons I applaud the President for showing similar resolve against the threat from Iran. This, combined with increasing the pressure on Putin, will ensure that China gets the message: America is serious about peace through strength. But to be clear, we cannot confuse the current momentum we see on the battlefield with victory--two very different things. Putin is still betting on one thing: that he can outlast us, that our attention will drift, that our resolve will soften and his oil revenues will fund this war machine long enough to exhaust Ukraine's defenses. Our job, the job of this body, is to prove him wrong, and that means striking at the one thing--the one thing--that keeps the Kremlin's war going: money. Money is what keeps the Kremlin's war going. That is why I am proud to support two strong bipartisan bills that would give President Trump additional tools to leverage in the pursuit of peace. The first is the appropriately named Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act. Senator Graham championed a foreign policy rooted in American strength, from the defense of Ukraine to the cause of freedom everywhere. As you see on chart 3, this legislation would authorize sweeping sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, banks, state- controlled entities, and the shadow fleet that Putin has used to evade sanctions. It would give our President the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas and the top five countries facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion. Finally, it would cut Russia off from U.S. capital and energy markets by prohibiting U.S. investment in Russia, purchases of Russian sovereign debt, and broker-dealer funded transfers involving the Russian Government. The message is simple: If you bankroll Putin's war, you will pay a price in the American capital markets. The second bill is bipartisan legislation that I have introduced with my colleagues here in the Senate--Senator Coons, Senator Husted, and Senator Warren--the Decreasing Russian Oil Profits Act. As you see on chart 4, the DROP Act targets the single most important source of revenue propping up the Kremlin's war machine: oil. This legislation fills a gap in our sanctions posture by requiring targeted sanctions on anyone, anywhere, dealing in Russian-of-origin oil--the purchasers, the shippers, the financiers, and the executives who profit from them. Now is the time to move on these Russia sanctions bills to give the President the tools and the leverage he needs to end this conflict, and now is the time to increase the pressure on Putin's unbridled aggression. This is a bipartisan cause because it is an American cause. Peace comes through strength--never through weakness, never through wishful thinking. And the tide is turning. Ukraine is doing its part on the battlefield, and now--now--the United States must capitalize on this strategic opportunity to weaken Putin's Russia. I urge my colleagues to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act and the DROP Act without delay. Give our President--give our President--the tools he needs to bring this conflict to a peaceful resolution. I yield the floor.
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