-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, this month we will reach the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
As we all know, Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, a KGB alumnus, an oppressor of the Russian people, and we also are finding out more and more that he is really bad at fighting a war.
For 4 years, Putin has insisted that Russian victory is just around the corner. That is his dream, but it is a lie. The facts show that Putin is nowhere close to winning. Here are the facts: During the year 2024, Russia captured 0.6 percent of Ukrainian territory. Last year, it captured 0.8 percent. So 2 years of massive, tragic bloodshed caused by Vladimir Putin has resulted in 1.4 percent of enemy territory taken.
So he is bad at tactics, he is bad at strategy, but he sent millions of Russian men into battle in his unprovoked and illegal invasion, inflicting 1.2 million casualties on his own people, on his own Russian people--1.2 million Russian casualties. He may have at one time been a successful KGB torturer, but he is a failure at today's attempt to overrun his neighbor by force.
The Russian dictator is actually breaking records for his inability to achieve battlefield gains. Since 2024, his most significant offensives have scraped a meager 16 yards to 75 yards of ground per day--less than the length of a football field. This is among the slowest military campaigns since World War I. This would be embarrassing if it weren't so tragic for the civilized world and so tragic for the Russian people, not to mention the Ukrainian people.
Since Putin's military campaign is failing, he has now doubled down on his attacks on civilians--unarmed civilians. As we all know, a bitter cold snap has descended on Ukraine, and the maniacal Vladimir Putin has turned this winter into a weapon. He has systematically targeted energy sites, wiping out power and turning homes into freezers. The results--specifically directed at civilians, directed at mothers and children--have been deadly. Putin knows that he has failed to achieve his objectives on the battlefield, so he continues trying to achieve it through civilian torture--even today.
Indeed, Putin has failed in his two overriding goals. First of all, he has not weakened NATO. Under Putin's watch, NATO has expanded and awakened. Secondly, he has not brought Ukraine into Russia's orbit. Ukraine and its people have overwhelmingly moved philosophically further from Russia and toward the civilized democracies of this world.
Putin is failing, but he still peddles the lie that Russian victory is right around the corner. And some American voices are repeating this misinformation. They are echoing this. And we have heard this for years. Yet, in spite of his years of failure, Vladimir Putin persists for the moment in killing Ukrainians and causing the deaths of Russians and his allies.
We must show him it is time to stop, and that is what I am urging our government to do and this Senate to do. The West should unite around security guarantees and a framework for a just end to this war.
NATO will continue purchasing American-made weapons for Ukraine. The United States can and should get Ukraine more offensive and defensive aerial capabilities. Congress should take up the Russian sanctions bill. We know it has overwhelming support on this side of the aisle, on that side of the aisle, and at the other end of the building. What are we waiting for? Let's do it.
Secretary Hegseth and I have worked together to expedite weapons development. Already, we are seeing progress there. This week, the U.S. Air Force live-tested a new, low-cost, air-launched cruise missile called ERAM, and we did so just 16 months after the initial contract-- impressive. We can do better than that, but that is impressive. The missiles are now headed to Ukraine. We continue to work to stand up a pipeline of novel capabilities, built by American industry and built by American manufacturing workers, with which we can arm our ally Ukraine.
For years, the Russian military has flung itself against the rock of a country it covets and a country it dwarfs in size but moving more slowly than nearly any military in a century. We need to show Vladimir Putin that it is time to stop. We must not let him off the mat. We must increase the pressure.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source