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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1928 PRINTER'S NO. 3352
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 259
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY PIELLI, RIVERA, VENKAT, MERSKI, GIRAL, MADDEN,
VITALI, PROBST, GUENST, PASHINSKI, HOHENSTEIN, HOWARD,
BRENNAN, NEILSON, SCHLOSSBERG, SANCHEZ, MALAGARI,
D. WILLIAMS, BELLMON, O'MARA, CERRATO, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ,
DAVIDSON, STEELE, K. HARRIS, SHUSTERMAN, SAMUELSON,
PROKOPIAK, DONAHUE, HOGAN, HEFFLEY, WAXMAN, HANBIDGE, TAKAC,
KOZAK, BRIGGS, GILLEN, MATZIE, SHAFFER, KHAN AND T. DAVIS,
JUNE 16, 2025
AS AMENDED, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MAY 5, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing August 24, 2025 2026, as "Ukrainian Independence
Day" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, On August 24, 1991, after the failed coup attempt on
Mikhail Gorbachev, Ukraine's Supreme Council voted to declare
Ukraine's independence; and
WHEREAS, Ukraine's Supreme Council called for an independence
referendum on December 1 that year; and
WHEREAS, With some 32 million people turning out to vote,
representing 84.1% of eligible voters, 90.32% of voters voted in
favor of independence; and
WHEREAS, Every oblast in Ukraine, including Crimea where
ethnic Russians form a substantial majority of the population,
voted in favor of independence; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, as part of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine
agreed to completely relinquish its nuclear arsenal, which it
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inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, in exchange for an
assurance that the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia
would respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and refrain from
the use or threat of military force; and
WHEREAS, Since declaring its independence, Ukraine has been
caught between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions; and
WHEREAS, The 2004 Presidential Election exemplified these
tensions, with the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko facing off
against the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych; and
WHEREAS, Yanukovych was declared the winner of the election
after the runoff; and
WHEREAS, The runoff vote was marred by allegations of fraud
that seemed to try to skew the election in favor of Yanukovych;
and
WHEREAS, A large protest movement emerged in Kyiv to
peacefully demonstrate against the results and call for a free
and fair revote, which later came to be known as the Orange
Revolution; and
WHEREAS, Yielding to the pressure of the demonstrators, a new
round of voting occurred on December 26, and Yushchenko emerged
as the winner; and
WHEREAS, Yushchenko intended to move Ukraine towards the
European Union and declared European Union membership as a
critical goal; and
WHEREAS, In March 2007, negotiations began between Ukraine
and the European Union for an enhanced agreement to replace the
previous partnership and cooperation agreement; and
WHEREAS, During the next few years, Ukraine and the European
Union continued to negotiate on what would become the
association agreement, typically used as a stepping stone for
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the eventual ascension into the European Union; and
WHEREAS, Yanukovych, whose earlier victory in 2004 was
overturned by the courts, won the election to become President
of Ukraine in 2010; and
WHEREAS, Under pressure from Russia, the Ukrainian Government
of pro-Russian President Yanukovych decided not to sign the
association agreement with the European Union in November 2013;
and
WHEREAS, Demonstrations ensued in Kyiv, later becoming what
is known as the Euromaidan protests; and
WHEREAS, The protests turned violent and grew in size after
government crackdown on the protesters; and
WHEREAS, In February 2014, some European foreign ministers
mediated a compromise, involving a unity government; and
WHEREAS, After the collapse of a power-sharing agreement on
February 22, President Yanukovych disappeared from Ukraine and a
new government was installed by the Ukrainian parliament; and
WHEREAS, Toward the end of February, unidentified military
figures, later confirmed to be Russian personnel, surrounded the
airports in Crimea, and the Crimean autonomous assembly was then
seized by pro-Russian forces; and
WHEREAS, In March 2014, the Crimean autonomous assembly
issued a declaration of independence and a subsequent referendum
on union with Russia was held; and
WHEREAS, According to Russian election officials, 95.5% of
voters supported union with Russia, the results of which were
not internationally recognized; and
WHEREAS, Shortly after the Crimean referendum, pro-Russian
separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and
Luhansk held independence referendums; and
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WHEREAS, Armed conflict in the regions quickly broke out
between Russian-backed forces and the Ukrainian military, though
the conflict transitioned into an active stalemate; and
WHEREAS, In October 2021, after months of intelligence
gathering, the White House had a briefing with United States
intelligence, military and diplomatic leaders on a near-certain,
mass-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, In mid-December 2021, Russia's foreign ministry
called on the United States and NATO to cease military activity
in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, commit to no further NATO
expansion toward Russia and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO in
the future; and
WHEREAS, The United States and NATO rejected these demands
and threatened to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia;
and
WHEREAS, In early February 2022, satellite imagery showed the
largest deployment of Russian troops to its border with Belarus
since the end of the Cold War; and
WHEREAS, Negotiations between the United States, Russia and
European powers failed to bring about a resolution; and
WHEREAS, On February 24, 2022, during a last-ditch United
Nations Security Council effort to dissuade Russia from invading
Ukraine, Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale land, sea
and air invasion, targeting Ukrainian military assets and cities
across the country; and
WHEREAS, In the three years since SINCE the start of the
unjust invasion, Russia has killed tens of thousands of soldiers
and civilians while destroying large swaths of Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has made important contributions to
Ukraine's defense and fight for freedom, with munitions plants
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providing critical weaponry; and
WHEREAS, In September 2024, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
visited the Scranton Ammunition Plant and met with Governor
Shapiro; and
WHEREAS, During the visit, Governor Shapiro signed an
agreement with the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration to
leverage the strengths of both regions and support the region's
efforts to rebuild after the war while providing Pennsylvania
businesses an opportunity to participate in the reconstruction;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognize August 24, 2025 2026, as
"Ukrainian Independence Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acknowledging that Pennsylvania is
the cradle of freedom and democracy, recognize and support the
same spirit of 1776 exhibited by the brave Ukrainian freedom
fighters; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the United States President
and the United States Congress to continue supporting Ukraine
and not waver on the cause of freedom and democracy; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of
Representatives transmit a copy of this resolution to the
President of the United States, the Governor of Pennsylvania and
to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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