HR 259 — A Resolution recognizing August 24, 2026, as "Ukrainian Independence Day" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.   1928

                  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 AND GILLEN, JUNE 16, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
        DEVELOPMENT, JUNE 16, 2025


                                  A RESOLUTION
 1   Recognizing August 24, 2025, as "Ukrainian Independence Day" in
 2      Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, On August 24, 1991, after the failed coup attempt on
 4   Mikhail Gorbachev, Ukraine's Supreme Council voted to declare
 5   Ukraine's independence; and
 6      WHEREAS, Ukraine's Supreme Council called for an independence
 7   referendum on December 1 that year; and
 8      WHEREAS, With some 32 million people turning out to vote,
 9   representing 84.1% of eligible voters, 90.32% of voters voted in
10   favor of independence; and
11      WHEREAS, Every oblast in Ukraine, including Crimea where
12   ethnic Russians form a substantial majority of the population,
13   voted in favor of independence; and
14      WHEREAS, In 1994, as part of the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine
15   agreed to completely relinquish its nuclear arsenal, which it
 1   inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, in exchange for an
 2   assurance that the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia
 3   would respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and refrain from
 4   the use or threat of military force; and
 5         WHEREAS, Since declaring its independence, Ukraine has been
 6   caught between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions; and
 7         WHEREAS, The 2004 Presidential Election exemplified these
 8   tensions, with the pro-Western Viktor Yushchenko facing off
 9   against the pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych; and
10         WHEREAS, Yanukovych was declared the winner of the election
11   after the runoff; and
12         WHEREAS, The runoff vote was marred by allegations of fraud
13   that seemed to try to skew the election in favor of Yanukovych;
14   and
15         WHEREAS, A large protest movement emerged in Kyiv to
16   peacefully demonstrate against the results and call for a free
17   and fair revote, which later came to be known as the Orange
18   Revolution; and
19         WHEREAS, Yielding to the pressure of the demonstrators, a new
20   round of voting occurred on December 26, and Yushchenko emerged
21   as the winner; and
22         WHEREAS, Yushchenko intended to move Ukraine towards the
23   European Union and declared European Union membership as a
24   critical goal; and
25         WHEREAS, In March 2007, negotiations began between Ukraine
26   and the European Union for an enhanced agreement to replace the
27   previous partnership and cooperation agreement; and
28         WHEREAS, During the next few years, Ukraine and the European
29   Union continued to negotiate on what would become the
30   association agreement, typically used as a stepping stone for

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 1   the eventual ascension into the European Union; and
 2         WHEREAS, Yanukovych, whose earlier victory in 2004 was
 3   overturned by the courts, won the election to become President
 4   of Ukraine in 2010; and
 5         WHEREAS, Under pressure from Russia, the Ukrainian Government
 6   of pro-Russian President Yanukovych decided not to sign the
 7   association agreement with the European Union in November 2013;
 8   and
 9         WHEREAS, Demonstrations ensued in Kyiv, later becoming what
10   is known as the Euromaidan protests; and
11         WHEREAS, The protests turned violent and grew in size after
12   government crackdown on the protesters; and
13         WHEREAS, In February 2014, some European foreign ministers
14   mediated a compromise, involving a unity government; and
15         WHEREAS, After the collapse of a power-sharing agreement on
16   February 22, President Yanukovych disappeared from Ukraine and a
17   new government was installed by the Ukrainian parliament; and
18         WHEREAS, Toward the end of February, unidentified military
19   figures, later confirmed to be Russian personnel, surrounded the
20   airports in Crimea, and the Crimean autonomous assembly was then
21   seized by pro-Russian forces; and
22         WHEREAS, In March 2014, the Crimean autonomous assembly
23   issued a declaration of independence and a subsequent referendum
24   on union with Russia was held; and
25         WHEREAS, According to Russian election officials, 95.5% of
26   voters supported union with Russia, the results of which were
27   not internationally recognized; and
28         WHEREAS, Shortly after the Crimean referendum, pro-Russian
29   separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and
30   Luhansk held independence referendums; and

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 1         WHEREAS, Armed conflict in the regions quickly broke out
 2   between Russian-backed forces and the Ukrainian military, though
 3   the conflict transitioned into an active stalemate; and
 4         WHEREAS, In October 2021, after months of intelligence
 5   gathering, the White House had a briefing with United States
 6   intelligence, military and diplomatic leaders on a near-certain,
 7   mass-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine; and
 8         WHEREAS, In mid-December 2021, Russia's foreign ministry
 9   called on the United States and NATO to cease military activity
10   in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, commit to no further NATO
11   expansion toward Russia and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO in
12   the future; and
13         WHEREAS, The United States and NATO rejected these demands
14   and threatened to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia;
15   and
16         WHEREAS, In early February 2022, satellite imagery showed the
17   largest deployment of Russian troops to its border with Belarus
18   since the end of the Cold War; and
19         WHEREAS, Negotiations between the United States, Russia and
20   European powers failed to bring about a resolution; and
21         WHEREAS, On February 24, 2022, during a last-ditch United
22   Nations Security Council effort to dissuade Russia from invading
23   Ukraine, Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale land, sea
24   and air invasion, targeting Ukrainian military assets and cities
25   across the country; and
26         WHEREAS, In the three years since the start of the unjust
27   invasion, Russia has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and
28   civilians while destroying large swaths of Ukraine; and
29         WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has made important contributions to
30   Ukraine's defense and fight for freedom, with munitions plants

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 1   providing critical weaponry; and
 2      WHEREAS, In September 2024, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
 3   visited the Scranton Ammunition Plant and met with Governor
 4   Shapiro; and
 5      WHEREAS, During the visit, Governor Shapiro signed an
 6   agreement with the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration to
 7   leverage the strengths of both regions and support the region's
 8   efforts to rebuild after the war while providing Pennsylvania
 9   businesses an opportunity to participate in the reconstruction;
10   therefore be it
11      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
12   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognize August 24, 2025, as
13   "Ukrainian Independence Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it further
14      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
15   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acknowledging that Pennsylvania is
16   the cradle of freedom and democracy, recognize and support the
17   same spirit of 1776 exhibited by the brave Ukrainian freedom
18   fighters; and be it further
19      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
20   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the United States President
21   and the United States Congress to continue supporting Ukraine
22   and not waver on the cause of freedom and democracy; and be it
23   further
24      RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the House of
25   Representatives transmit a copy of this resolution to the
26   President of the United States, the Governor of Pennsylvania and
27   to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.




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