Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, we live in a dangerous time. There are a number of flash points all around the globe--in this hemisphere, in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific--but I want to remind my colleagues today that, still, the most dangerous thing going on around the world today is Vladimir Putin's war against freedom and the West in Ukraine.

I would point out that for the past year, Vladimir Putin has mocked the Ukraine peace process by steadily escalating his attacks on his neighboring country. He has recently launched the biggest air attack the conflict has ever seen and shown repeatedly that he is not interested in peace talks. He gives lipservice to peace talks, but his acts show that he is not interested.

Now, by contrast, in the last few weeks, the United States, Ukraine, and our European friends have come together on a common negotiating position centered on several key principles. Here are the key points: Ukraine should not be forced to give up the sovereign territory it deserves and it currently controls. Also, Putin should not achieve through negotiation what he has not managed to achieve on the battlefield, and there have been great disappointments to Putin on the battlefield. In addition, the United States should play a role in Ukraine's security guarantees on a permanent basis. The Senate should ratify these guarantees if they are ever agreed to.

In the meantime, the Ukrainian people should be assisted in continuing to fight for their freedom.

I commend President Trump, President Zelenskyy, and European leaders for continuing to come together to reach a consensus. As we seek a just end to this brutal, unprovoked war, I urge everyone in Washington, in Kyiv, and in the great capitals of Europe to remain united and to remember who we are dealing with in the form and person of Vladimir Putin.

Vladimir Putin is unrepentant. He is ever and will always be the KGB agent. He is a dictator with decades of bloodshed on his hands. He is the biggest thief in the history of the world, a war criminal who should be behind bars at this moment. And, of course, Putin is a liar.

When Vladimir Putin smiles to American negotiators, he acts as our friend and he acts as if we believe he is our friend. We have no reason to smile back at Vladimir Putin or trust him with anything but caution and contempt.

After 4 years, Putin knows a Russian victory is not inevitable. More and more, the American people see and know this. A November poll found that 70 percent of Americans do not trust Putin to honor any peace agreement with Ukraine.

He is cut from the same cloth as terrorists all over the world and terrorists down through history. In Putin's attack on civilians, for example, we see parallels with the Hamas terrorists who rampaged through Israeli neighborhoods on October 7. The terrorists are Putin's friends. And don't forget this, and sometimes it is not publicized as it ought to be: Putin has abducted 20,000 Ukrainian children and subjected many to brainwashing schemes. In these horrors, we see the likes of Xi Jinping and his Uighur reeducation camps. Putin routinely locks dissidents in jail, just like his kindred spirits in other censorship regimes.

This tyrant who wants to be treated as a peer in the world's great halls of democracy should be known by the company he keeps.

When the brutal Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, thankfully, where did Bashar al-Assad run? He ran for safe haven to Moscow--that is where he went--to be under the protection of Vladimir Putin, who seeks to make us believe that he is an honest negotiator. Nicolas Maduro was wisely counseled to flee Venezuela. If he had run, where would he have run? He would have run straight to Moscow. For decades, Russia has been a friend to the murderous Cuban regime. And now, as the Supreme Leader in Iran considers his options, where might he go for refuge? The only place he could go is Moscow. So that is the company Vladimir Putin keeps in current day.

But Putin even echoes the likes of Adolf Hitler. Putin routinely talks about ``liberating'' the Russian-speaking Ukrainians living in the Donbas and other areas of Ukraine. This is the same vile, absurd pretext that Adolf Hitler used when he invaded the German-speaking regions of neighboring countries in Europe, including Poland. That is who Vladimir Putin is.

Regrettably, the people of Russia are led brutally by Putin, this world-historical villain.

Ukrainians will continue fighting against his unprovoked attacks but not because they hate peace. The Ukrainians will continue to fight because their alternative is the extinction of their country.

The West needs to stand with them. We need to stand with Ukraine, and we must keep assisting our friends. We need to send a clear message that Putin cannot wait us out.

In December, I am grateful to say to my colleagues that Congress overwhelmingly passed and President Donald Trump enthusiastically signed the National Defense Authorization Act. That law extends Ukraine's Security Assistance Initiative and our commitment to sharing intelligence with Ukraine. Good for the President, and good for our friends in the House and Senate.

Our allies across the Atlantic are taking the lead now, as my colleague from Kentucky just pointed out, in financing security assistance for Ukraine. NATO allies are buying equipment from us in the United States and giving it to Ukraine. I certainly applaud that, as all Americans should.

The United States should increase the air defenses and long-range strike capabilities that we are sending to Kyiv. More than any other capabilities, these will help show Putin his military aims are not achievable.

For nearly 4 years, Ukrainians have demonstrated their resolve, as they will continue to do. The West must continue to stand resolved with them.

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