acuity to state from here. there is no question outside of that we will leave that to others, but we have seen from president putin whether it is exclude tory rhetoric with nuclear capability and nuclear intention something that is in direct conflict with something president putin himself and the russians committed to had committed to something else just a year ago or whether it is the speech he gave last week where he questioned the sovereignty of the country of ukraine at all or the actions he's taking right now. >> we are going to break away from this event not to take you live to the u.s. senate part of the over 40 or commitment to bring it live coverage of congress. the senate is about to gobble back into following at all centers classified briefing of russia/ukraine. live coverage of the senate here on cspan2.

a senator: madam president. . the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent that rene sheehy, a postal i.g. detailee with my staff, be granted floor privileges for the roo minder of this -- remainder of this congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: this is the fourth time i've come to the floor of the senate in the past month to talk about the crisis in ukraine. and to talk about what we can do here in the united states congress to try to help the great people of ukraine. today i come to the floor to

express my solidarity with the courageous people of ukraine, who as we speak are under attack in kiev, in kharkiv, and in so many other cities and towns throughout ukraine. russia's attack on ukraine is a brutal, unprovoked invasion of a democracy, an ally, and a sovereign nation. it must not be allowed to stand, or it will create a precedent that unravels the international order that has kept the peace in europe for nearly 80 years. earlier today senator durbin and i organized a meeting of the ukraine caucus. we're the cochairs. we had ambassador marakova come, the ukrainian ambassador to the united states. along with her came a member of the rata, their parliament, who happened in the -- to be in the united states when the attack

began. they spoke with emotion about their country, about what they needed, stinger missiles, javelin missiles to be able to fight against superior russian air power and russian tanks. but they also spoke with compassion about the people of ukraine, about the sacrifice and the courage that they're showing from the woman who has never fought before, who now has an ak-47 and is defending her family in her apartment building, to the president of the republic, president zelensky all of them are showing courage in defending their homeland, their way of life, and democracy i also just left a briefing that was an opportunity to hear from the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, and other american officials about what we

are doing as a country, and to give us an update on their view as to what is happening in ukraine. just as the conversation with ambassador marakova and a member of the rata was inspiring to hear about the courage and resilience of the people of ukraine, the briefing with our american officials was sobering. it was encouraging to see america stand up to protect freedom, but also an understanding that the russian forces outnumber those in ukraine, and certainly their equipment and technology, their planes and their tanks and their ships are going to make this a very, very difficult battle. thankfully, the world is rallying on the side of freedom. that's encouraging and inspiring i was in cleveland, ohio, last

night at a prayer vigil and a rally. over a thousand people showed up. many were ukraine jan americans in -- ukrainian americans who live in northeast ohio. it's a strong community. many were from other countries -- latvia, lithuania, poland, people who have family from bulgaria, people from the entire region, including some from russia, but all standing firmly with the people of ukraine. as was said last night at the prayer vigil, tonight we are all ukrainians. tonight, we are all ukrainians. there were also demonstrations and rallies all around the country yesterday. we're told over 40 cities had rallies to support ukraine and the people of ukraine. last night i heard stories about

family members who are in harm's way. again, people with their voices choked with emotion talking about what's going on, what they're hearing from their family members back in ukraine. one guy who i know told me that his brother-in-law back in ukraine, who again has never picked up a weapon before in his life, has joined the military. he's probably about my age. he's joined the military to put his life at risk for his country and for his neighbors. the people of ukraine did nothing to cause this invasion. nothing. their only desire is to live in peace. as ambassador marakova said this afternoon, ukrainians never attack anybody. we just want to live in peace. allow us to determine our own fate, our own destiny. that is what vladimir putin

cannot abide, and that is what we in america and the rest of the free world must support the ukrainians in doing to allow them to have the future that they choose through a duly elected government, the freedoms and democracy and prosperity that we take for granted so often in this country, they relish. in 2014, at the maidan, once again, they threw off the shackles of a russian-backed government. they know what it's like to live under the thumb of russia, under the thumb of the soviet union before that. they don't want to go back. in 2014, they made a conscious decision to go forward, looking to the west. to stand with us. i was there while the maidan was still smoldering, tires still smoldering, people still there, gathered, even though the

russia-backed government had been removed. they weren't sure what would happen. then an election occurred, a democratic election, and a president was elected, the parliament was elected, and they began to fight for not just the freedom of ukraine and democracy of ukraine, but the rule of law, to get rid of some of the oligarchical structure that russia had left, the crungs, and now this. after so much progress. since 2014, they have fought and fought and fought to be like us. and now this. hundreds of innocent ukrainians, men, women, and children, have already lost their lives in this invasion. nobody knows the exact number. but we saw footage today on cnn, on fox, on the networks of

apartment buildings that had been attacked by missiles. we heard from the ambassador that two five-story apartment buildings had been attacked today. women and children had lost their lives. this humanitarian crisis, of course, is pouring refugees into other countries as well. hundreds of thousands of people have escaped to poland. mostly women and children. romania is also taking its share of refugees. but make no mistake, ukrainians are fighting. they are fighting back bravely, and they have inflicted great costs already on their russian invaders. i commend those brave ukrainians and armed forces who picked up arms against these great odds and have already denied president putin his initial

objective, an immediate occupation. i want to particularly commend the brave leadership of ukraine president volodymyr zelensky. his defiance in the face of evil is what leads free countries and societies through difficult and dark days, like ukraine is experiencing right now. when it was suggested to him that the west would like to help him find a way to escape, his response this week was i need ammunition, not a ride. i need ammunition, not a ride. this has been a rallying cry, not only for the people of ukraine but around the world. unfortunately, ukraine is used to this russian aggression. they have suffered already during an eight-year war on ukraine, since 2014, since the revolution of dignity, since the events on the maidan i talked about earlier. 14,000 ukrainian citizens have

lost their lives at the hands of russian snipers, russian military, artillery. i've been to the front. they call it the line of contact. it's the border now between ukraine and these so-called occupied territories. the dambas. line of contact is a euphemism. it makes it sound like there's gloves touching at the contact. it's a line of war. and it has been for 14 years. again, 14,000 ukrainians have lost their lives. i had to wear the helmet and the flak jacket because there were sciencers -- snipers that day taking potshots at ukrainian soldiers. but i saw with those ukrainian soldiers, the patriotism, the nationalism that i knew would lead them to fight, that the miscalculation by president putin was that somehow russia would be greeted as victors.

some even said he thought they'd be greeted with flowers. instead, they're being greeted with ak-47's and having been there on the frontlines, you knew this would happen. these ukrainians are not going to give up their country. when president putin decided to invade ukraine in 2014 and seize crimea and come into the donbas, it was clear russia was not a rational actor, but one motivated by the irrational dreams of re-creating an empire at all costs. the world warned russia to stand down then, and they refused, and the sanctions were too weak. this time, the world again has warned vladimir putin to stand down.

instead, he has ordered air strikes into the capital city of kiev, and now there are reports of russian military deliberately striking hospitals, kindergartens, apartment complexes, as i talked about a moment ago. these are war crimes, and the world is watching. i would say to russian officials tonight, russian commanders, there's another way. stop this atrocity. the world is watching. and the war crimes are being recorded. you can refuse these orders, and you must for the sake of humanity. why would you want to kill your neighbors in ukraine who are innocent and juster want to have the opportunity to lead their life as they see fit? these are not just war crimes. they are a clear violation of commitments under the budapest memorandum, minsk agreements,

u.n. charter, international law, as was the decree issued earlier in february about two weeks ago by president putin which recognized the independence of parts of ukraine, the donetsk, people's republic. he did so as a pretext to ordering the military to conduct so-called peacekeeping missions and occupy ukrainian territories. we see this is one more case of disinformation. the lies and disinformation will continue as they did today, but they're taking in fewer and fewer people. people can see what's happening. this is the age of digital communications, where people can see videos in real time of the war crimes being committed. i was among those advocating for tougher sanctions up front

pre-invasion, believing that might dissuade russia from launching a full-scale assault. i cosponsored legislation to do just that and hoped congress would pass bipartisan legislation mandating tough sanctions, nord stream 2 sanctions, disinformation in addition to the enhanced military aid. i honestly don't know whether it would have kept vladimir putin from making this terrible mistake, but i thought it was something we should have done. we chose not to. and we are where we are. and now we are seeing not just the united states, but the rest of the world step forward with these tough sanctions. and i congratulate the biden administration for getting the rest of the world on board as they have. there's more to do. we have now targeted russian banks, russian elites with sanctions, placed limits on

high-tech commerce and russia's abilities to do business in dollars. all are welcome in particular with the treasury division of economic measures that target the core infrastructure of russia and more than 50% will have a devastating effect over time. already today they closed down their markets in russia, their stock market. they are saying that foreign reserve cannot leave the country, so it's already having an impact. in addition, the administration's announcement that they will sell 250 m-1-a-2 battle tanks to poland, i commend. i have been pushing for that for some time. these are the best tanks in the world, and poland wanted them, and it is great we are now delivering those. we have now deployed more u.s. troops to germany and eastern europe to enhance nato defenses. that's necessary, in my view. we're not in ukraine, but in the countries around ukraine, to ensure that should vladimir

putin expand this war -- and who knows whether he will or non stiffer resistance from nato. we must make it part of a deliberate, coordinated strategy to enhance the military readiness of our eastern european allies, and do so quickly. i also applaud the u.s. working with our european allies, with australia, with canada, with south korea, japan, taiwan, and singapore on a coordinated export control response combined, by the way, the these four asian countries account for over 70% of the world's surkt -- semiconductor production. a ban on chips would be costly on russia's ability to rearm and reply its military. we must make sure this action comes to fruition. this must happen. however, these are just first steps, in my view. we can and should do more. and i think there's a bipartisan consensus now here on capitol

hill to do just that. let me offer a few more suggestions. i welcome the news from this weekend that we are going to be joined by a number of allies in sanctioning russia's central bank and cutting off a number of of their institutions from the swift financial system. we're still seeing details of these plans but as of now it looks like they still have some carve-outs in this plan for certain financial institutions when it comes to swift. i think it is a better idea to put all of russia's banks on this sanctioning list. as for the central bank, i'm glad we are getting global cooperation, but who we really need to step up to the plate is china. i'm told china holds 14% of russia's finances in reserves. china needs to know that this is a decision point. will they stand against this tyranny that the global community is standing against or not? i believe we should also target russia's trade sector by revoking our permanent normal

trade relationship or pntr, with russia. in other words, the united states should no longer give russia unrestricted access in trade to our country. this would have the effect of raising tariffs on goods from russia to the rates at which they were before russia joined the world trade organization and received this special status, pntr, for the u.s. congress. when i was u.s. trade representative, i helped negotiate this agreement. and it does give them certain privileges with regard to our economy. free trade with the united states is a privilege, not a right. after russia joined the w.t.o. in 2012, congress passed legislation to expand trade between our countries by limiting tariffs son some of these imports. congress can take it away. invading a sovereign nation, a democracy no less, is grounds for us to take away that

privilege. and we have the right to undo it under the w.t.o. rules for national security reasons. it would not be unprecedented. in 1992 congress revoked market access for serbia and montenegro as a result of their aggression in the wake of yugoslavia. today i will be introducing bipartisan legislation to revoke unrestricted access for countries who invade their neighbors, period. i call upon our trading partners to invoke their own national security rights at the w.t.o. and similarly take away market access russia until this point as it enjoyed in their economies. this should be ended, this market access, unless and until ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty are as they were prior to the russian invasion. i was also glad to seat germans

reduced their policy. this is a big deal. they are joining our other allies that have sent weapons in the past and are sending more now. germany is allowing another ally, the netherlands, to send rocket-propelled grenades. i have been critical of germany. i have been critical of germany on this very floor, also when i was at the munich conference in germany last week. i wish they had taken these steps sooner, but i commend them for taking these steps now. we also need to increase shipments of lethal military arms to ukraine, to the baltics, to poland, romania as well as increasing defense spending at home. this weekend the administration authorized an additional $350 million in lee nal defensive arms for ukraine. that's a positive development and we need to get those weapons there immediately. i understand that some have gone, others have not. these javelins and stingers and other military equipment need to be in ukraine as soon as possible.

the ambassador told me today they need them badly, and there's absolutely no time to lose. i understand the administration has requested $6.4 billion in aid for ukraine in emergency supplemental. i don't know if that's enough. with hundreds of thousands of ukrainian refugees fleeing to poland and other countries, we need to provide these allies with help to deal with this crisis. i also want to take a hard look at the amount we are spending on arming ukraine and our allies. now is the time to provide them with what they need. an aid package should increase lethal defensive assistance, provide critical support to combat, enhance cyber attacks against ukraine and disinformation, and prepare for a refugee flow out of ukraine into europe. by the way, we also need to enhance our own tools against cybersecurity here in this country. russia's cyber warfare against america continues, and it could increase. there's legislation actually on

the floor this week to do just that, the cyber is the reporting for critical infrastructure act and two other pieces of legislation are legislation to help protect our critical infrastructure on the private-sector side but also protect our sensitive government information, national security data. so we can do something this week by passing that legislation. finally ukraine and georgia should be allowed to begin the process to become part of nato. you may remember it's been 14 years since nato told ukraine and georgia they were in line for nato membership. it was back in 2008. i do not believe this invasion would have happened had ukraine been part of nato, period. i was told when i promoted this idea over the last several years that we couldn't do it because it would make russia mad. i don't know what the reason is

now. these two countries, ukraine and georgia, along perhaps with sweden and finland, if they're interested -- i understand the finish parliament will take this up tomorrow -- laying out the specific road map for entry. it is time to put ukraine on that final track toward nato membership. let me remind everyone that ukraine is not asking us to fight their wars for them. in fact, the world continues to watch and see images of ukrainian forces and regular civilians picking up arms and defending their homeland. they are just asking for enough help to defend themselves. this is about the fight for freedom, and it's taking place right now, at this time, in the country of ukraine. it's taking place in places all around the world. i'm told that today there is a move toward more

authoritarianism, that more people live under authoritarian regimes than under democratic regimes based on some analysis. it's shifting in the wrong direction. why then would we not stand by ukraine, because ukraine is moving in the right direction. in 2014 they moved from being under the russian thumb authoritarianism to democracy, and now russia is trying to reverse that. we must stand for freedom. why? because it's in our interest. ultimately we are the beacon of hope, of opportunity for the rest of the world because of our freedoms here, but they are tenuous, and they depend on the allies around the world who also treasure freedom. there are two quotes from u.s. presidents that come to mind. one is from a republican and one is from a democrat. the democrat is john f. kennedy. these are words that he actually never spoke but he wrote them. and it was from a speech that he was meant to give on the afternoon that he was

assassinated in dallas. he was to say, at this time, in this country, in this generation we are by destiny, rather than choice, the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. we are the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. senator kennedy served in this chamber. president kennedy was right, just as he stood up to the cuban missile crisis, he understood that by destiny rather than choice, it's up to us. ronald reagan famously said that you get peace through strength. to me, that's one of the great truisms of our last couple of decades in this country, that we have to have a strong military if we want to have peace because only by the projection of force can we ensure that we can keep the

peace around the world. he also said, and i quote, we know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. it is then that tyrants are tempted. think of the situation in ukraine. it is then that tyrants are tempted. there's a strong bipartisan support now for ukraine, and this week we should work hard to ensure that we pass the supplemental appropriations bill we talked about that includes the assistance for ukraine, but also to strengthen our ability to protect against cyber attacks, also to do what we can in terms of trade, cutting off this normal trade status with russia, tightening the sanctions on the central bank we talked about. there's so much more we can and should do. but i find there's no lack of resolve right now from this congress, and it's important for ukraine and their people. they are people who are choosing a democratic and free future,

free from tyranny. the ukrainian dream is now under attack by a brutal dictator who wants to remake europe and disrupt the national order that has kept the peace for nearly 80 years. it's time for this congress to speak with one voice. freedom in eastern europe depends on it, but so does global freedom and our freedom. our allies and our adversaries are watching. i yield back my time.

mr. sasse: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mr. sasse: thank you, madam president. first i'd like to associate myself with the comments from the senator from ohio, senator portman. he was -- heroism of the cranian people and what it could mean for us. madam president, it's a little after 4:00 a.m. in kiev, capital of ukraine and president zelensky is still fighting. ukrainians are still fighting and americans need to know their stories. ukrainians need us to tell their stories. this story starts, of course, with an unjust, unprovoked invasion, the people of ukraine posed no threat, they provoked no violence. they lived freely on russia's southwest border with their

iconic wheat fields. of us have been there and we made friends there and we have friends back in the states. living freely on the southwest border of russia was enough to provoke the tyrant of russia to hatred. it's bizarre. they lived in freedom, so putin decided he was threatened. vladimir putin thought that he could crush ukraine. he thought he could break their spirit. he thought he could put his boot on their neck. he actually thought freedom makes people soft, so he thought this would be ease right-wing. he was wrong. ukrainians have shown the world their fighting spirit and they are standing firm in onslaught after onslaught including the relentless targeting of civilian

areas. the ukrainian army is making putin pay. the truth is putin didn't expect to encounter much resistance. he looked back on his experience in the donbas where he took big swaths of territory and he was convinced the ukrainian people would fold. he has been caught offguard and his -- he didn't anticipate the heroism. he didn't anticipate the ukrainian people. he didn't anticipate the way ordinary villagers would stand up, like the small woman who approached russian soldiers and hand them handfuls of sun flower seeds. why? she told him 0 -- so that

something beautiful would grow on their bodies that would rot in ukraine. she spoke for the grandmas armed with ak-47's and the grandpas who had to reenlist and the students who are learning to make molotov cocktails and those parents who had to kiss their kids good-bye and she spoke for the mothers who will have to bury her sons. putin has been embarrassed by the ukrainians. modern tyrants have -- the communists are trying to choke off the information, make sure that no one says anything that is true. others, like in russia, decide to blast a billion lives through state-run media hoping to blot out the truth so so much confusion and nonsense that people can't find the needle in the heystack that is the -- hay

stac that is the truth. people are hungry for stories. people need stories, we need stories. and the best and most powerful stories are almost always the true stories and right now ukraine is retelling an age-old story of good and evil. and the reason their story is powerful is because they are telling a true story. if we were to stand here tonight, senator portman and i and many others, i have been in the scif for much hours and most of us have been there in the last hour and a half and if we were to tell every story of ukrainian bravery, the senate wouldn't have time to get anything done this week. there's one story that stands out over the course of the past week since putin began his unjust invasion and it has given rise for the courageous ukrainian resistance to find a motto. and this is the story of snake

island. it's a little island in the black sea near the mouth at the bottom of a delta. it's called snake island and it's small but it is strategically and symbolically important because it marks the boundary of ukraine's territorial waters. ukraine has always stationed a small number of border guards to keep watch. the current president, zelensky, went to this tiny piece of rock and declared this island is ukrainian land and we will defend it with all our might. no one in 2019 knew he was speaking prof essie. over the -- prophecy. the world has seen and heard the story and heard the recording of what those 13 ukrainian heroes did last thursday as they sought to defend that little piece of rock because it was symbolically important as all of ukraine was,

that it's not russia. shortly after putin ordered his troops to attack ukraine, two russell naval vessels approached snake island. the russian soldiers ordered them to vufnedder, but -- surrender. the dictator, the lier putin, he was wrong. he couldn't intimidate these men. he anowbsed they needed -- announced they needed to rotundaer. the snake island -- needed to surrender. the snake island guards would not surrender. one soldier announced russian warship -- russians decided to open fire on the island, pounding it with heavy ordnance and eventually, they would storm the beach.

but that one sentence, russian warships, that is now the rallying cry of the ukrainian resistance. it was heard this morning when georgian gas station on the sea decided that it wouldn't refuel a russian ship and when the russian ship said, what are you talking about and they said, you're the bad guys, and they said, why not put politics aside and let us buy gas and the georgians decided to repeat the ukrainian motto and said get out of here and the russian warship pulled away. they said, you look strong enough, why don't you row. that summarizes the brave ukrainians and what they are doing as they stand in the face of the much larger invading forces. snake island is incomprehensible to a man like vladimir putin.

he doesn't understand human dignity. he doesn't understand courage. he doesn't understand principle. he's too small. he doesn't understand why people would fight for freedom. this is a man who spent the last 30 years, 20 of them now as the ruler, fighting to return russia to tyranny, fighting to take away the freedom of his people, fighting to take away the liberty and freedom of those on russia's borders. he doesn't want any of his near neighbors to know freedom. he thinks tyranny is the order of things, and, again, he's wrong. unlike putin, though, our people, the reason so many americans have been rallying to the ukrainian cause over the course of the last week, our people fully understand the spirit of snake island. we may not know snake island geographically, but we understand what is beating in

the heart of the people who want to echo that motto. we breathe freedom, we believe in the ideas of the declaration of independence, we strive to create a more perfect union where everyone is recognized as having been created equal. we often fail in our execution, but it is our aspiration to affirm universal human dignity and the destiny of people to be free. for we believe that every human is created in the image of good and there's nothing government can do to erase that. we have no love for strong men and tyrants. we understand the men of snake island in a way that vladimir putin cannot. for we believe in human dignity. we believe in universal rights. we believe in freedom from oh, he prescription -- oppression. what we love, vladimir putin hates. today, ukraine is standing against a dictator who rejects

each and every one of the principles that we've affirmed in our credo founding documents. the members of snake island and those in the ukrainian resistance are looking to add their names as a list of heroes. this hoarmism is timeless -- heroism is timeless. though snake island was outarmed, they were strong. they have an aim to pass on a free ukraine for their children for generations to come. this national resis tans -- resistance has come to find itself embodied on the global stage and that is president zelensky. just a few years ago, this man was an actor and comedian. now he has shown such bravery, we have seen his name alongside

heroes like winston churchill. zelensky could have chosen to flee his country. the u.s. state department allegedly offered to evacuate him and his family but instead zelensky chose that he would stay on the front lines and lead his people. the fight is here, he said. i need am ammunition, not a rid. putin is hiding in a bunker, trumbleing in fear of his own -- trembling in fear of his own people. his only response is to try to choke off their speech and it to imprison them. zelensky, on the other hand, fights shoulder to shoulder with the men and women who are trying to defend their country. he broke bread with some guying this morning. he is putting his life on the line for his country and not backing down and we don't know how things will unfold over the course of the next few weeks and

months, but zelensky has changed the directory of germany, finland, sweden and switzerland. zelensky, as a symbol and as a courageous man has already changed the world. he's a bigger man than putin. the whole world knows that. putin's own army knows that. even putin's cronies now know that. but it is not just the cranians who are going -- ukrainians who are going to be burying their dead. russians will bury their dead as well. many will have died needlessly due to vladimir putin's lies. he told their parents that they were off on training exercises and would be welcomed as heros at the end of the exercise. he didn't tell them they would be shot, blown to bits, he

didn't say these things because he's a liar. while we applaud the brave ukrainians, we should not overlook the russians who will die. freedom's battle is not with russia's moms who didn't though their -- know their boys were being deployed, human beings are made in the image of god and they're dying, and vladimir putin alone bears responsibility. his evil ambitions are destroying not just ukrainian bodiesance souls, but -- bodies and souls, and this conflict, this chosen war of aggression by vladimir putin is disgusting. if he actually cared for anything bigger than his ego, if he actually cared for his people, if he actually cared for his nation, the generations of russians who this war is going to impoverish, he would find an off ramp now. that's what a bigger man would do. ukraine, on the other hand, is not the a i gressor here. we're -- not the aggressor here.

we're seeing people fighting for that their survival, because putin has given them no other choice. we obviously don't know how history will unfold here, but we do know that truth is on the ukrainian side, and the truth is this, that the boys of snake island and president zelensky and the broader ukrainian national resistance are mounting a defense of freedom unlike anything the west has seen since the end of the cold war. and that's why this story of snake island matters. it's why zelensky's bravery is so important, not just for ukraine but for the whole world. it's why that little woman's sunflower seeds are so inspiring. for ordinary ukrainians are responding to putin's aggression with extraordinary heroism. we should be in awe of what our friends are, accomplishing. make no mistake, though, war is not an abstraction. our 21st century jargon about kinetic action and lethal force tries to paper over a reality as

old and cane and abel. war is old men and women struggling for a last gasp of air while their blood soaks into the mud. war is started by the old, usually waged by the young, and no one in their right mind would ever wish for war, for it is ugly. but the cause request can be necessary, and in this case the ukrainian cause is just. their war for their country, for their freedom and for their kids' futures is just. the ukrainians are willing to shed their blood for their cause, but as importantly they're willing to soak the streets with the blood of russians, who've been sent by the cosm -- the comfortable tyrant putin who sends people to die far from home while he consumes the billions he has stolen from those same people. let's be steely-eyed about the coming days and weeks, because things tonight at 4:30 in the morning in ukraine are ugly and they're going to get much, much worse.

but ukraine's heroes, despite the dark nights ahead, their heroes deserve our reverence. while it is ugly in ukraine, their stories need to be told around the world by free people who believe in human dignity. for there is a great panton of freedom fighters across time, men and women who died fighting tyrants, and we should tell their story, we must celebrate their cause, and we should arm them with as many javelins and stingers and rifles as they can possibly use. we should ship them rations and ammo and we should share actionable intelligence in real time with them so they can try to rappel the invading force. for as long as they are fighting tyrants, america stands with them and america will arm them, and i'm convinced that this senate will rise to the call to arm these ukrainian freedom fighters in memory of those boys from snake island and all those who are joining in their throng.

glory to u.k. a. glory to her heroes. america stands with you. thank you, madam president. .

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the appointment at the desk very glad we are continuing now madam president, today i chose the colors of my suit andr: tie senate to join with a like committee on the part of the house of representatives toes court the president of the united states into the house chamber for the joint session to be held at 9:00 p.m. on tuesday, march 1, 2022. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its

business today it adjourn until 10:15 a.m. on tuesday, march 1. that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to calendar number 273, h.r. 3076, postal service reform postcloture, that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the

president biden addresses a joint session of congress and the nation the state of the union address live tuesday at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span, c-span.org or on the c-span now video app. broadband is a force for empowerment that's why charter has invested billions, building infrastructure, upgrading technology, and empowering

opportunity in communities big and small. charter is connecting us. charter communications supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. one day before president biden's first state of the union address, the house caucus members hold a news conference on capitol hill where they criticized the president's agenda and policies, including covid-19 masks and vaccine mandates. the freedom caucus chair, scott. of pennsylvania, lead off this 30 minute press briefing. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. i'm congressman scott perry from pennsylvania's tenth district as the chairman of the house freedom caucus, and i'm joined by great americans who have suffered under the president's policies over the last year, and e