SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 292 - Mar/20/24

Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)

Mar/20/24 8:32:37 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my hon. colleague mentioned in his speech how Ukraine and Canada share many similarities, in particular, a shared geography with Russia: Ukraine borders Russia, and Canada shares an Arctic border region with Russia. In light of the fact that Sweden and Finland have recently joined NATO and that NORAD modernization is going on, as the defence minister has indicated, could he tell the House what the government's views are on Canada's role in the Arctic, particularly as it relates to countering some of the threats the Russian Federation presents not just to the Canadian Arctic but to the other Arctic nations in the NATO alliance?

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Hon. Robert Oliphant

Mar/20/24 8:33:29 p.m.
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Madam Chair, that question is key in my mind. As someone who lived in Canada's north for six years, I am very aware of the strategic importance of Canada's Arctic, as well as the fragility of Canada's Arctic and the people who inhabit it. I had not been to Finland until last year, but I made three trips to Finland in the last year and two trips to Sweden. Part of that was to engage with those northern countries. The welcoming of those countries into NATO has been absolutely critical. It changes the nature of our alliance. It adds more weight to the northern questions, to the near north, to the near Arctic, as well as the Arctic countries. Those voices at the table are very valuable for Canada. Of course, we were the first country to acknowledge and approve their accession into NATO. We did that not only because it is good for them and their security, but it is good for Canada and our security. Absolutely, we have to have them. My colleague from Orleans, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, will be speaking after me. I am sure she will have an understanding of our restructuring, refunding and rebuilding of Canada's defence capacity in the north, both with NORAD and, I am hoping, with NATO as well, and for them to understand that our collective security resides on that front as well, not just in eastern Europe.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Mar/20/24 8:35:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I heard my colleague opposite say earlier that Canada has been a leader in helping Ukraine. In reality, we rank roughly eighth on the list of countries supporting Ukraine, even though Canada is home to the largest population of Ukrainians outside of Ukraine. It seems to me that we could be doing a little more, especially since, as my colleague from Montarville said in his brilliant speech, barely 42% of the support and aid Canada committed to sending has been delivered to Ukraine. It is all well and good to say that we are going to supply 1,000 F-18s, but if we have no intention of doing so, it is just talk. It feels a bit like the government is posturing, like this is all for appearances. The government is displaying its good intentions and virtue signalling by announcing major support for Ukraine, but if it does not deliver that assistance, it is pointless. I would like to hear my colleague explain where we are at with the distribution of the assistance promised to Ukraine. How is the government going to do better, as the international community is increasingly calling for, in terms of military and humanitarian support for the current conflict in Ukraine?

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Hon. Robert Oliphant

Mar/20/24 8:36:22 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am not going to get into a recitation of everything that Canada has done, such as the military support and the training, but when I travel the world, believe me, we are thanked every day for the contributions we have done. There is no way Ukraine would have been able to withstand the massive assault it did from Russia without the training that Canada provided to 30,000 soldiers. I hear that every day. Have we fallen short? Absolutely we can do more, but every country in the world is facing a similar situation. We are looking for armaments that are not always available. We are looking for weapons that are not always available. The ammunition needs to match the artillery Ukraine has, and it is not always available. This is not an easy task. Canada is working lockstep with our NATO allies and others to continue this fight. We never said this was easy. I have been in opposition. It is very easy to do anything one wants in opposition and say anything. We are doing it day by day. We are working with the Ukrainian government, with the Ukrainian embassy here and with the tremendous ambassador, and we are finding ways to do that.

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Lib.)

Mar/20/24 8:37:51 p.m.
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Madam Chair, let us set the stage as a beginning. When I think about Ukraine, I think our friends are in a fight for their very existence. Russia's illegal and unjustifiable invasion has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians. To be clear, when we think about this attack, it is also an attack on all those who value peace, freedom and democracy. We, as Canadians, have a responsibility to help uphold those values. We must make sure Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself and to help chart a course for a brighter tomorrow, once this terrible war comes to an end. To guide these efforts, Prime Minister Trudeau and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy—

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The Assistant Deputy Chair

Mar/20/24 8:38:56 p.m.
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I would remind the hon. member that we do not use the names of current members of the House. The hon. member for Orléans.

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde

Mar/20/24 8:39:09 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I apologize. To guide these efforts, the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of Ukraine signed an agreement on security co-operation between our two countries in Kyiv this past February. I am very pleased with the agreement, and the reason we are talking about it tonight is that it builds on previous bilateral agreements between Canada and Ukraine, as well as on the larger NATO effort to help Ukraine. Specifically, it builds on the 2017 Canada-Ukraine Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the Canadian Department of National Defence, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, a major milestone in our shared defence efforts. It also builds on the G7 joint declaration of support for Ukraine announced on the margins of the NATO summit in Vilnius last July. The aim of this new agreement is to expand and to deepen our political, foreign, military and security co-operation and effectiveness. This includes becoming strategic partners; enabling our two countries to share information more easily; delivering supports to Ukraine during both the conflict and the recovery; providing support to Ukraine in the event of future Russian attacks; helping Ukraine pursue integration into the Euro-Atlantic community; and supporting Ukraine in its pursuit of peace and security, with a special recognition that different segments of the population, including women, men, boys and girls, are all impacted differently by Russia’s invasion. As part of those efforts, the agreement contains several critical funding announcements for Ukraine. Those include $3 billion in critical financial and military support to Ukraine in 2024, which I think my colleagues mentioned earlier; $45 million for demining assistance and cyber resilience; another $30 million to support ongoing engagement between CSIS and the Ukrainian intelligence service; and other funding to support resilient food systems, mental health services and governance reforms, among other measures. One important aspect of this agreement is that it strengthens Canada and Ukraine's already robust defence relationship. We are proud to say that we are helping to support Ukrainian troops by training more than 40,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Since the war started, Canada has provided $4 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including $95 million in materiel. The agreement also recognizes the significant potential of the Ukrainian defence industry. When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine just over two years ago, it launched an attack on all those who seek peace and freedom across the globe. Putin thought the west would be quick to abandon Ukraine, but he was wrong; we are more united than ever. The security co-operation agreement signed last month is a testament to Canada’s dedication.

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Mr. James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, CPC)

Mar/20/24 8:42:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague from the defence committee, the parliamentary secretary for national defence, for her intervention tonight and for her support for Ukraine. I would ask the member, specifically on the Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership, how she envisions clause N., which talks about the seizure of Russian assets for compensation to Ukraine to help support the rebuilding efforts of Ukraine's infrastructure, for compensation to homeowners and for compensation to families who have lost loved ones and property because of the indiscriminate attacks by the Russian military and by Putin's war machine?

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde

Mar/20/24 8:43:51 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I like to believe that we share a common goal when it comes to support for Ukraine. From the very beginning, Canada has been there in support. We were also very much engaged in the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. We believe that this is a way to help support the rebuilding and to look at current components where we can help Ukraine in its desire to militarize itself. Unlike the member opposite, we voted in favour of this agreement. I would like to put on the record that I am extremely disappointed to see that the Conservatives, under the leadership of the leader of the Conservative Party, voted against the Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement. We will continue to be there. We have an excellent rapport with Ukraine. We have been answering its requests to provide support, and we will continue.

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Mr. Rhéal Éloi Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)

Mar/20/24 8:45:33 p.m.
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Madam Chair, according to the Liberal member who spoke before my colleague, Canada is having trouble keeping its promises because the weapons and equipment are not always available, the soldiers are not always available, the money is not always available and so on. Would my colleague not agree that the problem is really that the government made too many commitments and should have been more realistic when it was making promises to Ukraine? If that is not the case, is it because the government has become indifferent about upholding the commitments it has made?

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Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde

Mar/20/24 8:46:27 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, but I have to smile a bit because from day one, Canada has been firmly committed to providing help to Ukraine. I mentioned the training to help Ukrainian soldiers, the new co-operation agreement and the aid for rebuilding Ukraine. We recently announced $40 million to provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition during the 20th Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. The Minister of National Defence is collaborating and conferring with our allies and partners to help Ukraine. I absolutely do not agree that we are not providing help to Ukraine. We will continue to do so. Yes, sometimes there are challenges, but from the very beginning, our intentions of supporting Ukraine have always been very sincere.

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Mr. James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, CPC)

Mar/20/24 8:47:34 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is indeed an honour for me to be rising today as the shadow minister of national defence for the official opposition, the Conservative Party, and also as someone who is incredibly proud of his Ukrainian heritage. I have to say this at the outset. I want to make sure everybody understands that Conservatives support Ukraine. We denounce Russia's invasion in Ukraine, which Putin has committed and has allowed his military to commit war atrocities and war crimes against the innocent people of Ukraine. Because of that, we support the Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership, which will enhance the co-operation between Canada and Ukraine and between the Canadian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We need to do more, not less, and we believe that this security agreement will set the tone. We have spent the last couple of days here in Ottawa paying tribute to the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada, who lay in state the last couple of days here in Ottawa, and I want to extend my condolences to Mila, to Caroline, to Ben, to Mark and to Nicolas. Brian Mulroney is so key to tonight's debate because of his incredible support for Ukraine. He was the first western leader, on December 2, 1991, who recognized Ukraine's independence, and I think it is very important that we honour his legacy and also the incredible work he did to make that happen. The fall of the wall in Berlin and the end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all happened because of the work done by Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney to apply increasing sanctions on the U.S.S.R. to make sure the Soviets were not able to fund their war machine and to put the Soviets into bankruptcy. Because of their incredible work of reaching across the Atlantic and of making sure they worked in partnership as western liberal democracies that shared a common heritage and loved freedom, democracy and human rights, they stood up against that Soviet bear. Today, we find ourselves in a similar situation, where the Russian bear is now trying to flex its muscles, using its own war machine to invade Ukraine and to commit war crimes. To undermine the NATO alliance and to undermine all our democracies, Russia has been feeding out propaganda and misinformation that has only been paled by going back to Hitler's Nazis and what Goebbels did to make sure that misinformation and propaganda was disseminated, to not only their own citizens, but also around the world. As such, it is a responsibility of our western democracies to make sure people understand that what they see and what they get are actually two different things when we are dealing with the Kremlin, the kleptocrats there and their propaganda. I think it is important, at this time, to also recognize that our friends in Ukraine and our friends in Israel are facing some horrific situations from terrorism, from war crimes and from barbarism, and we need to make sure we continue to stand with Ukraine and continue to stand with Israel in their times of need. We must call for the release of all hostages taken in Ukraine, who are being held in Russia, and all hostages taken in Israel, who are being held by Hamas. They have kidnapped over 20,000 children. They are brainwashing them and often using them in their military as cannon fodder against their own country, and I think that is deplorable. As a Conservative, I am proud of our track record of supporting Ukraine. It started with Brian Mulroney, and many of us sat in caucus and in government with Stephen Harper. We were there for Ukraine in bringing forward Operation Unifier. We were there for Ukraine by supplying it with military equipment as soon as the war in Donbas broke out in 2014, and with the illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea by the “little green men”, which we all know were the Wagner Group from the Kremlin. We were there providing things like winter kit, night vision goggles and body armour, and allowing the Ukrainians to be able to modernize. With Operation Unifier, they were able to train up to NATO standards and be in the position where they are today, able to fight back against what was supposed to be one of the superpowers in the world. We had been saying this since 2018 when we saw that the war was not ending in Donbas. It was not just an insurgency happening in Luhansk and Donetsk. We knew that there were Russian troops on the ground supplying the weapons and the personnel that were carrying on the war and occupying territory in eastern Ukraine. In 2018, Conservatives started to say that Canada should send over our surplus weapons. There was a cache of weapons sitting collecting dust in Montreal that was supposed to go to the Kurdish Peshmerga. That never happened, so we said, “Let us take those AK-47s, those grenades and grenade launchers and the Carl Gustaf anti-tank weapons, and give them to the Ukrainian military.” That did not happen until the war broke out in February 2022. At that point in time, we immediately started saying, “Thank you for doing that, but we have more to do.” We have surplus weapons that are being disposed of, like our light armoured vehicles, our Coyotes, our Bisons and our armoured ambulances. Let us supply those to Ukraine. We have surplus Role 3 mobile hospitals that were bought for the COVID pandemic that were not getting used. They never came out of the containers. There are a dozen of them. Let us ship them over to help save lives on the front. Let us send over more munitions. We need to ramp up our production of 155 rounds for the howitzers. Those artillery shells still have not increased in production to this very day, over two years since the war started. Just recently, our leader of the Conservative Party called on the government to supply CRV7 rockets. There are 83,000 sitting in Dundurn, Saskatchewan, that are going to be disposed of, sent to the scrap heap. Instead of scrapping them, let us give them to the Ukrainians, who can use them to defend themselves and push back the Russian invaders. In my last couple minutes, I have to say that I support the Canada-Ukraine strategic security partnership. In particular, I will talk about part 4.I and part 4.N. Part 4.I is “Resilience of Energy and other Critical Infrastructure”. It is important to note that this is talking about supporting Ukraine's overall energy sector. That means liquefied natural gas, which is the main source of fuel for its electricity. It is the main source of fuel for its heating. It is the main source of fuel to drive its economy. We as Conservatives, including my colleague from Wellington—Halton Hills as our shadow minister for foreign affairs, have clearly stated that the way we must stop putting fuel in Russia's war machine, the way we take cash out of the pockets of Putin and his kleptocrats in the Kremlin, is by taking away the market, the ability to sell their energy products in Europe. We need more Canadian energy. There is also a focus on nuclear safety, and that is one thing Canada actually can do. We can do small nuclear reactors. We can actually help modernize the nuclear infrastructure Ukraine has, the power plants. I think we need to capitalize on that, and that will help Ukraine, especially as its nuclear power plants continue to be attacked by Russia. Finally, part 4.N is “Compensation for Losses, Injuries and Damages Caused by Russian Aggression”, taking Russian assets here in Canada and around the world and using them to directly support Ukraine, Ukrainian families and Ukrainian businesses, and to rebuild Ukrainian infrastructure. It is also about the seizure and the repurposing of Russian sovereign options through compensation mechanisms. It is going to be a huge step towards actually allowing us to cover the losses, injuries and damages suffered by people who lost loved ones, and people against whom rape was used as a weapon, and to compensate people for the loss of their homes and their businesses. This is a great opportunity for us to co-operate on all sides of the House to ensure that Ukraine is able to rebuild after the war ends, and that the Russian Federation pays for it.

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Mrs. Brenda Shanahan (Châteauguay—Lacolle, Lib.)

Mar/20/24 8:57:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I listened with great interest to the speech by my colleague, and I certainly appreciate the history that the member described, and that he does support the current security agreement that we are discussing tonight. However, what I cannot understand is why he voted against the Canada-Ukraine trade agreement. What I cannot understand is why he and the rest of his Conservative colleagues, who purport to support Ukraine, voted against continued support for Operation Unifier, which they so greatly claim was something that came out of the previous Conservative government, but which they refuse to continue to support. In fact, it is even more important that the House show unity in supporting Ukraine. We are hearing from all parties that the House should show unity in supporting Ukraine, and I am not hearing that from the member opposite.

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Mr. James Bezan

Mar/20/24 8:58:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, first of all, I will take no lessons from the member. As a person of Ukrainian heritage, I always stand with Ukraine. The first free trade agreement, which was in effect until today, was actually negotiated by the Conservatives. That was, by far, a superior trade agreement to the one we have now. Regardless of that, the Liberals stuck a poison pill in the free trade agreement. I am here voting on behalf of my constituents, and my constituents will never vote for a carbon tax. As long as there is a carbon tax in any legislation before us, Conservatives will vote against it. I have no problem standing up for that. On the issue of Conservatives' supporting Ukraine and voting against Operation Unifier, that was a budget item. We have lost confidence in the Liberal government. We will vote against the government every chance we get. Our constituents would not forgive us if we did not vote against the government, because we have lost confidence. We will continue to vote against it going forward. I would like to remind the member that when the member's leader was leader of the third party, he and the Deputy Prime Minister voted against Operation Unifier on two different occasions because they were in opposition and did not support the government either.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Mar/20/24 9:00:18 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to tell my Liberal colleague that I will not single out that Conservative member by criticizing his commitment to Ukraine. I see him with the Canada-Ukraine group regularly. His commitment is beyond reproach. His party's position on the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement is another story, however. On a personal level, I can guarantee that the member is fully committed, with all his energy, heart and conviction, to defending the Ukrainians in this community. I listened carefully to my colleague's speech. I always find it interesting to hear from this member because he knows his stuff. I would like him to comment on how Canada is currently handling the conflict in Ukraine and on the support that can be provided by Canada, which I find weak and a little lazy. I said it earlier in another speech. I think Canada could do a lot more. I also feel that, contrary to what the Liberals think, the international community sees Canada as all talk and very little action. We have delivered 42% of the aid we promised. Imagine if Canada were in a situation where it needed help from its international allies, if we had to defend our Arctic sovereignty, for example. It could happen. We must not rule it out. Does my colleague think that what Canada is doing right now could have some impact on how quickly international allies would come to Canada's aid?

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Mr. James Bezan

Mar/20/24 9:02:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we are supporting the government for all of the military aid that has been provided to this point in time. I also appreciate the fact that every loan done under the Harper government that was offered to Ukraine to help with its economy, its government and the military has already been repaid. Ukraine has been honouring the loans that were provided from Canada and other nations. However, the member is right: There have been a lot of announcements, and one is not going to win a war on paper; one actually needs to deliver. All we have to do is look at 14 months ago. The Government of Canada announced, with great fanfare, that we were going to send over a NASAMS air defence system. That still has not been ordered. As for the $406 million, who knows where it is? The NASAMS is still either in the United States or not even built yet. There are a lot of questions around where the contract is. Ukraine needs that air defence system today. It needed it when it was first announced. It does not need it 14 months from now. We also know that when President Zelenskyy was here, the government made a bunch of fanfare about sending over 50 new light armoured vehicles. I can say that the contract with either GDLS or Armatec in London has not been signed. We do not know that they are actually going to purchase these. This was, again, announced six months ago, and we have not even put a pen to a contract to allow our own Canadian industry to build the light armoured vehicles. As I mentioned, Ukraine was burning through over 8,000 rounds of howitzer artillery shells on a daily basis. Canada has not even increased our production here, for our 155-millimetre shells built in Montreal, one iota. We are still building, today, 3,000 a month. That does not give Ukraine enough for even half a day. Canada and our allies need to step up, to really ramp up production. We have to get on a war footing and we have to make sure we support our Canadian defence industry so it can deliver the equipment, weapons and munitions needed by the Ukrainian military to defend its sovereign territory. Finally, as we have been calling for, we have a lot of equipment that is being disposed of. We—

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The Assistant Deputy Chair

Mar/20/24 9:04:53 p.m.
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I cannot give the hon. member another speech within the questions and answers. The hon. member for New Westminster—Burnaby.

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Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)

Mar/20/24 9:05:02 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I do not question the member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman on his loyalty to Ukraine. I think that is well documented. Certainly the member for Drummond is absolutely right in this regard. I do not question the loyalty and the support that his former leader, Erin O'Toole, had for Ukraine. I do question his current leader's support for Ukraine. He has denounced Ukraine as being a faraway foreign land. He pushed his caucus to vote against the Ukraine trade deal. I know that the member is trying to defend his leader, and that is normal. Quite frankly, however, the idea that a trade deal that gives Ukrainians the decision whether or not to put a price on pollution is certainly not something the Conservatives could have voted against. His leader has not, in any way, confirmed that the strategic security partnership would be adequately funded. It is true that Conservatives, last December, put Operation Unifier on the chopping block. A deliberate motion was moved to cut funding to Operation Unifier, and all Conservatives voted for it. If the intent was to show opposition to the government, the Conservatives had the ability to not move that motion and to move other motions. They chose to move the motion to cut Operation Unifier. I think what concerns me the most is Tucker Carlson and Danielle Smith. The Conservative leader has not denounced that appearance with the Putin apologist, and my simple question is, “Why?”

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Mr. James Bezan

Mar/20/24 9:06:51 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to remind the NDP House leader that, before 2019, before being part of the Liberal-NDP coalition, he voted against Operation Unifier in every main estimate and every supplementary estimate, in every budget from 2014 to 2019. He has no right to criticize anyone over here who has lost confidence in the government. The NDP is propping up the costly and corrupt Liberals. I would just say this as well: Our leader has been very vocal in his support for Ukraine. He has actually called on the government to send the 83,000 CRV7 rockets to Ukraine today. The Ukrainians have asked for them. All the inspections have been done. Instead of allowing them to sit there and collect dust or cost us millions of dollars to dispose of them, let us hand them off to the Ukrainian armed forces so that they could dispose of them in a way that protects their country. I would suggest that the member for New Westminster—Burnaby get onside with the leader of the Conservative Party so that we could actually get the job done.

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Mr. Marcus Powlowski (Thunder Bay—Rainy River, Lib.)

Mar/20/24 9:08:11 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of International Trade. I think it is really unfortunate that I am here yet again to talk about Ukraine and the war and using those two words in the same sentence. I wish, when I thought about Ukraine, my thoughts would be limited to growing up with my baba in Fort William. We would sit on the front steps of her corner store. She would bribe me with Coca-Cola and chips to get me to sit and listen to her Ukrainian hymns and stories about the old country. I wish my thoughts of Ukraine were limited to thinking about my family in Odessa, which I visited, and visiting the village of my baba, which was near Horodenka in Chernivtsi, or the village of my dido, which was near Kamyanets-Podilskyy. Instead, here we are talking yet again about the war, an unprovoked attack by the Russian state, led by Vladimir Putin, in complete and utter disregard for the most fundamental principles of international law. In starting this war, Putin has committed what is known in international law as the crime of aggression, which in the words of the Nuremberg judgment is “the supreme international crime...[as]...it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole”, the evil being all other international war crimes. I would love to talk more about how the invasion has affected the international legal order, which grew out of the horrors of the Second World War, and how the resulting international trade rules have brought prosperity to millions of poor people around the world. However, time is limited, there is a war on, so let me talk about some of the specifics and highlights of the agreement. In 2024, Canada will provide $3.02 billion in macroeconomic and military support to Ukraine. The agreement states: In the event of renewed Russian aggression or attacks against Ukraine following the cessation of current hostilities, and at the request of either of the Participants, the Participants will consult within twenty-four...hours to determine measures needed to counter or deter the aggression. There is a section of the agreement that commits both countries to establish closer defence industrial partnerships. In that, there is an explicit recognition of the acute need for ammunition in Ukraine. There is talk of the need for Canada to continue to support demining. As a doctor who has operated on land mine injuries, that is really important to me. Canada, in this agreement, commits to supporting Ukraine in making sure it holds Russia to account for war crimes, including in front of the International Criminal Court. Lastly, the agreement commits Canada to working with other countries to establish a compensation mechanism whereby Russia would pay for the damages done to Ukraine. I read a quote earlier about how starting a war is the supreme international crime. That quote came from the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. There were eight judges on the tribunal; two of them were Soviet judges. As we all know, both Russia and Ukraine were part of the Soviet Union. It is ironic that Russia not only committed the supreme international crime but also committed it against its own brothers and sisters in Ukraine. It is also ironic that two of the judges on that tribunal were American. The United States is the historic champion of the international legal order. However, right now, we are seeing the United States struggle in order to continue to finance military assistance for Ukraine; much assistance has been absolutely crucial in preventing a Russian victory. Crass political gamesmanship and unbridled self-interest seem to have guided many American Republican congressmen to try to block the Biden administration's attempt to provide a further $60 billion in security assistance for Ukraine. This is an affront to the memories of those esteemed American jurists who sat at the Nuremberg trials and to the millions of people who fought and died on the side of the allied nations, both to fight the Nazis and to create the present international legal order. Thankfully, we know that the war in Ukraine will eventually come to an end. Ukrainians will then be able to return to what they do best, which is to grow cucumbers, tomatoes, sunflowers and dill and, occasionally, to be able to sit down and calmly enjoy a nice glass of horilka. Unfortunately, that day will not come soon enough. Slava Ukraini.

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