Shaheen: ‘We Cannot Take Our Eyes off of Putin’s Attempts to Erase Ukrainian Identity’

**Shaheen is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation & is a leading policymaker in the U.S. Senate in support of Ukraine amid Russia’s unprovoked war**

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, shared a post on Medium today about the United States’ obligation to not only aid Ukraine amid Russia’s unprovoked invasion, but to be purposeful in calling out Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s targeted and insidious campaign to erase Ukrainian identity, culture and history.

Shaheen wrote, in part, “After six months of war, we see that Putin’s use of propaganda is not just a tool used to advance his military campaign, but also serves to dehumanize the Ukrainian people and distract and desensitize onlookers from the atrocities being committed. The anti-Semitism laced in his disinformation is of particular concern. The Kremlin has repeatedly boasted of a military mission to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.” These words are dangerous and undermine the horrors of the Holocaust.”

Senator Shaheen has worked across the aisle in the Senate to advance legislative measures to collect and maintain evidence of war crimes and atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine, and to also recognize Russia’s barbaric actions in Ukraine as genocide. A member of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, Shaheen has traveled to Ukraine twice in the last year to reaffirm U.S. support for its democratic partner as the Ukrainian people fight for their lives, freedom and future.

Shaheen’s reflection appeals to the American people to remember why Russia’s war in Ukraine matters, not only for the future of Ukraine, but for liberal democracies worldwide: “Ukraine is on the frontlines of the fight for democracy and self-determination, values that the U.S. was founded on and that our transatlantic allies share. As Americans, we must continue to remember why Ukraine matters – it matters because we are bound by our word and moral obligation to speak up and act in the face of human suffering, mass atrocities and challenges to democracy. It matters because if Putin succeeds in devastating Ukraine, there is no telling where his brutality will stop.”

Read her Medium post in full here.

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