DENVER – The Colorado House passed a joint resolution Monday that the Senate passed unanimously on Friday in support of Ukraine after Russia invaded the country last week, and Rep. Jason Crow introduced a resolution in Congress to support an independent and democratic Ukraine.
“The Colorado House proudly stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their country from Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked, unjustified and violent attack on their nation,” House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver, said in a statement. “The entire World stands in awe of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people who are defying all the odds and bravely fighting back against Putin’s forces.”
The resolution says Colorado lawmakers stand with Ukraine, its people and its leaders and holds Russia “fully accountable” for the invasion that got underway last week.
It also condemns Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and endorses the sweeping sanctions President Joe Biden and the European Union have put in place since last week, which forced a closure of the Russian stock market Monday as the ruble was in a near freefall due to sanctions on the central bank and other top Russian financiers.
And it calls for Putin to cease the invasion in Ukraine “and return to diplomacy and the rules-based international order.”
The Senate unanimously passed the resolution on Friday amid emotional speeches from both Democratic and Republican senators and after a rally outside the Capitol on Thursday. Gov. Jared Polis last week signed a three-page executive order Thursday directing the executive directors of the Office of Information Technology and Department of Personnel and Administration to review state contracts and determine if any are with Russian state-owned companies directly or as subcontractors.
On Friday, the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) said it was divesting $7.2 million from Russia’s Sberbank, and that it had investments of around $8 million in five Russian companies out of a $60+ billion overall portfolio.
Also Monday, Crow and Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, announced the introduction of a House resolution expressing America’s support for a democratic and independent Ukraine. Crow and Wenstrup were among the congressman who led a congressional delegation trip to Ukraine in December as Ukraine warned Russia was preparing for an invasion. Crow also attended the Munich Security Conference last week.
He talked more about his trip in December in an interview with the Hudson Institute earlier this month and postulated about possible outcomes should Putin invade.
The resolution says the U.S. House “stands unequivocally with the Ukrainian people and supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and right to self-governance,” condemns Putin’s invasion and affirms support of the move by the administration to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons and other support.
“Putin’s war is a tyrannical, unprovoked act of aggression against a sovereign democratic nation,” said Crow, a former Army Ranger who sits on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees. “The U.S. must stand with its NATO Allies and the Ukrainian people, condemn Vladimir Putin and other responsible parties, and provide defense and humanitarian support to Ukraine.”
