At Annual Ukrainian Holodomor Commemoration Before Thousands, Schumer Blasts Trump’s Ukraine “Peace Plan” As A Surrender To Putin
Schumer Issues Stark Warning: Trump Capitulation Only Guarantees “More Aggression, More War, More Bloodshed”
Schumer Slams Trump So-Called “Peace Plan” As “Rewarding A Bully”
Schumer Says Trump One-Sided Peace Deal Gives Putin “Everything He Wants”
New York, N.Y. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Shumer to deliver remarks before thousands of people today at the annual Ukrainian Holodomor commemoration event. In his remarks Leader Schumer will strongly condemn President Trump’s so-called “peace plan” that was negotiated without adequate input from Ukraine or our European and NATO allies. Below are key excerpts and Leader Schumer’s full remarks.
EXCERPTS
“I will speak plainly because I fear that — nearly four years into this war — far too many people, including some of our very own leaders, have lost sense of the dimensions and stakes of this conflict.
“Vladimir Putin is a thug and a butcher.
“And Trump’s so-called “peace plan” gives this thug and butcher just about everything that he wants.
“There’s only one word to describe this plan: capitulation.”
“The deal on the table would — among other things — cede to Russia substantial Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk that the Russian military does not currently hold, and it would require Ukraine to shrink and disarm parts of its military.
“Putin would have a literal launching pad to invade Ukraine again.
“This is not a prescription for lasting peace. All it guarantees is more aggression, more war, more bloodshed.”
“The world has seen, again and again, the cost of weakness in response to a murderous dictator.
“To stand with Ukraine at this moment is to stand with every single person on Earth who yearns to be free.”
FULL REMARKS
Good afternoon, everyone.
First, I’d like to thank my friends, Michael Sawkiw, Tamara Gallo-Olexy and the whole Ukrainian Congress Committee of America for organizing this special event every year.
It’s my honor to be here, as it is every year. I never miss this commemoration because I know firsthand what it means to mark the senseless murder of your ancestors on Ukrainian soil.
As many of you know, dozens of my relatives were killed in Chortkiv by Nazis in the lead-up to the Holocaust. They survived the Holodomor only to be cut down by machine guns in the hands of Jew-hating soldiers.
One genocide followed by another. This is the legacy of violence that Ukraine has endured for generations, and that it continues to endure today.
I will speak plainly because I fear that — nearly four years into this war — far too many people, including some of our very own leaders, have lost sense of the dimensions and stakes of this conflict.
Vladimir Putin is a thug and a butcher.
And Trump’s so-called “peace plan” gives this thug and butcher just about everything that he wants.
There’s only one word to describe this plan: capitulation.
Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has killed hundreds of thousands Ukrainians and wounded hundreds of thousands more. It’s a staggering number.
And when you factor in the Russian toll, which exceeds one million casualties, the full picture of the carnage caused by this totally unnecessary war starts to feel dizzying.
We cannot — and we SHOULD NOT — reward Putin’s blatant criminality that has killed so many.
The deal on the table would — among other things — cede to Russia substantial Ukrainian territory in the Donetsk that the Russian military does not currently hold, and it would require Ukraine to shrink and disarm parts of its military.
Putin would have a literal launching pad to invade Ukraine again.
This is not a prescription for lasting peace. All it guarantees is more aggression, more war, more bloodshed.
For months now, President Trump has dithered while Putin has pounded Ukrainian cities and civilians with nightly drone and missile attacks. Putin is targeting critical infrastructure in the lead-up to the winter to freeze out Ukraine. Russian soldiers have kidnapped Ukrainian children and tortured civilians on his orders.
Putin’s cruelty knows no limits.
Meanwhile, Trump has rolled out the red carpet and welcomed Putin personally on American soil, just a few months after rudely scolding Vladimir Zelenskyy in front of TV cameras at the Oval Office.
Trump forgets who was the original aggressor in this conflict, and as a result, he has his deal completely backwards.
He of all people should know that rewarding a bully for their bad behavior just permits that bully to misbehave more in the future.
Putin first sent Russian forces into Ukraine in 2014, over a decade ago. He’s playing a long game and he’s counting on the fact that he can outlast Trump — and that Trump always loses interest in anything that requires perseverance and commitment.
Let me be as clear as possible: Ukraine needs and deserves security guarantees, not one-sided concessions. Any serious peace deal must ensure Ukraine remains free and sovereign with the fullest ability to defend its territory.
Ukraine has shown the whole world what it looks like to stand up to a bully. Nearly four years after many so-called “experts” said that Russian tanks would easily roll into the Maidan in a matter of days, Kiev remains proudly free and independent.
On the other side of the ledger, Russia is hated and reviled as a global pariah, its military greatly depleted. Ukrainian flags fly outside homes in neighborhoods all across this country, and in other countries around the world.
So why would we force Ukraine’s hand to give in to Russia on such generous terms?
Why would we give the Russian military time and NEW TERRITORY from which to rebuild and rearm for another vicious campaign of aggression?
Why would we abandon our allies in NATO who will bear the full brunt of a weak deal that lets Russia refocus its sights on all of Europe?
My friends, this annual commemoration is so important and powerful because it reminds us of the immense toll caused by moral equivocation.
The legacy of the Holodomor echoes directly with the challenges and choices we face today.
Every year, I make the point that the Holodomor presented an opportunity for the world to stand up to Josef Stalin and prevent the needless starvation of millions of Ukrainians.
But nobody intervened, and as a result, Stalin was emboldened — as were many other murderous dictators throughout the 20th Century.
The Three Pashas in Armenia, Hitler in Germany, Pol Pot in Cambodia. The list goes on and on.
The world has seen, again and again, the cost of weakness in response to a murderous dictator.
To stand with Ukraine at this moment is to stand with every single person on Earth who yearns to be free.
It’s just that simple, and it’s just that important.
Over the last four years, as the Senate Democratic Leader, I have been proud to lead the Senate in supporting robust military assistance for Ukraine ever since Russia first invaded.
Earlier this year, I led a resolution that called on the Trump Administration to transfer additional aid defense systems to Ukraine in response to Putin’s vicious drone assaults.
The White House has existing authority under legislation that I helped pass last year to provide to Ukraine advanced PATRIOT air defense interceptors; National Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, and radar guided air-to-air missiles.
I’m proud to say that since I introduced that legislation, the Trump Administration has agreed to provide some of these systems to Ukraine — but much more must be done.
Today, my promise to all of you in this room remains the same as ever: As long as I am a leader in the United States Senate, I will do everything in my power to make sure we stand with Ukraine in its time of need.
That is how we can honor the millions of lives that were cut short by Stalin’s cruelty nearly a century ago, and whose memory calls down to us through the decades for justice.
That is how we can honor the victims of so many genocides over the last 90 years who have paid the ultimate price of hesitation, equivocation, and abdication by governments that knew better.
America cannot be the world’s policeman, but we must ALWAYS use our moral compass to shake the conscience of the world when the lives of innocent millions hang in the balance.
Today, let us remember that Ukraine has outlasted authoritarian thugs in the past; and will continue to do so now, and in the future.
Stalin is gone; Soviet Russia is gone; and the Ukrainian people live on. Long may they live.
Thank you.
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