{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=B6522484-9A68-4504-B8DE-3D2A898B152A", "Graham, Blumenthal Oppose Russia Annexation", "2022-09-29", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "Senate", "SC", "Lindsey Graham", "G000359", "www.lgraham.senate.gov", "graham", "https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) today introduced legislation and a resolution that makes clear the United States views the annexation of any Ukrainian territory by the Russian Federation as illegal and unworthy of recognition by the international community.\n\n\u201cThis is one of the greatest shams since World War II,\u201d said Graham. \u201cIt reeks of Putin\u2019s desperation and violates every tenet of international law and human decency. We must stand strong and reject this illegal and immoral annexation. Territorial integrity is one of the bedrocks of the international order, and any nation which recognizes this illegal act should lose all military and economic assistance from the United States.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur legislation would, very simply, immediately require cutting off economic and military aid to any country that recognizes Vladimir Putin\u2019s illegal annexation of four regions of Ukraine,\u201d said Blumenthal. \u201cVladimir Putin is pushing the countries that have backed Ukraine to somehow moderate what they\u2019re doing, and it won\u2019t work. Any nation that aids and abets Vladimir Putin in this absolutely illegal action ought to be held responsible for its complicity. No economic aid, no military aid to any country that recognizes this annexation. It\u2019s a land grab, it\u2019s a steal, and it\u2019s another craven, brazen tactic by Vladimir Putin to test the west\u2019s support for Ukraine. We will continue this effort to hold accountable nations that fail to side with international law, with the fight for freedom, and independence on the part of Ukraine.\u201d\n\nGraham and Blumenthal noted that pro-Russian authorities conducted the sham referenda in four regions in Eastern Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia) between September 23 -27, 2022 with the ultimate goal of annexing these regions into the Russian Federation.\n\nThere were multiple reports of Russian officials visiting schools, hospitals, and workplaces and forcing Ukrainians to vote in favor of annexation. According to published reports, a number of Ukrainians were forced to cast their vote at gunpoint while others were visited by Russian-installed officials who carried ballot boxes from house to house with armed soldiers. There is even concern that Ukrainians in the annexed territories will now be conscripted and forced to fight on behalf of Putin.\n\nThe legislation, Ensuring Ukrainian Sovereignty Act:\n\nRequires the President to immediately cut off all economic and military assistance to nations that recognize any annexation sponsored by the Russian Federation; and\n\nSubmit a report to Congress regarding the nations that have been cut off and the aid that is being restricted\n\nThe report would go to the Senate/House Appropriations Committee, Senate/House Foreign Relations/Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Senate/House Armed Services Committee\n\nThe resolution, which is a statement of support from the United States Senate:\n\nAffirms that the Senate refuses to recognize any claim of sovereignty by the Russian Federation over any portion of Ukraine;\n\nAffirms the Senate views the recent sham referenda beginning on September 23, 2022, directed by the Government of the Russian Federation, as a violation of international law; and\n\nCalls upon the President of the United States to restrict all economic and military aid and assistance to any nation that recognizes Russian sovereignty over any portion of Ukraine\n\nThe full text of the legislation can be found here. The full text of the resolution can be found here.\n\n#####", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:29:59Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=B6522484-9A68-4504-B8DE-3D2A898B152A"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.860537100583315, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}