During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) offered her support for Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion.
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00:00Senator from Iowa.
00:03And I want to thank my colleague and great friend as we work on this together.
00:12Really appreciate your leadership.
00:15Thank you for allowing me to join you on the floor today as we show our support for your bill, Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025.
00:26So thank you, Senator Graham.
00:28Folks, last week, President Trump showed the world that American leadership is back.
00:36He brought home the last living American hostage, delivering Adon Alexander from Iran-backed Hamas and reuniting him with his family after nearly 600 days.
00:52He stood with our partners in the Middle East to strengthen the historic Abraham Accords.
01:01And he delivered a strong message to Vladimir Putin.
01:11End the war.
01:13Today, I stand in support of a sovereign Ukraine and echo the president's call to Putin to stop this bloodbath that never should have happened.
01:29This is an issue that not only affects a close partner under siege, but also the strength of the United States of America and the security of the free world.
01:43Let's be clear here, folks, China is watching.
01:51So is Iran and North Korea.
01:56And of course, Vladimir Putin is watching, too.
02:02They call it the new axis of evil for a reason.
02:07Mr. President, I personally witnessed and experienced the growth of the U.S.-Ukrainian relationship when I visited Ukraine in its waning days of Soviet control as part of an agricultural student exchange program.
02:29This was in 1989, and I had the privilege of living with a Ukrainian family on a very small collective farm.
02:42Now, as we got together, there were a number of us Iowa students on that exchange.
02:48And again, it was an agricultural exchange.
02:51We came together, each of us with our families, in a group setting.
02:56One of the very first nights that we were on that collective.
03:01And again, with the premise of an agricultural exchange, you know, we were farming tomatoes, working with the cattle and the hogs.
03:12Very small, small collective.
03:15We came together, and the Ukrainians wanted to ask us questions.
03:19So, all of us American students, all of us from Iowa, we sat down with our Ukrainian families, and we expected to talk about agriculture.
03:34Iowa agriculture versus Ukrainian agriculture.
03:38And much to my surprise, the first question that came from our Ukrainian counterparts was not about how we raise corn or soybeans in Iowa.
03:54It was not about the types of machinery that we used on our farm.
04:00But the first question the Ukrainians asked us was, what is it like to be free?
04:12What is it like to be an American?
04:17Because in 1989, those Ukrainians were living under Soviet socialist rule.
04:31They could not travel without having the permission of their government.
04:38My family did not have a telephone, and if they wanted to use the collective manager's telephone, they would have somebody listening in on the conversation.
04:52They would have to know the purpose of the telephone call, who they were calling, why they needed to make a telephone call.
05:01This was 1989, and I learned a lot from that exchange.
05:13I saw Ukrainian people that were desperate to break free of socialist economic structures and authoritarian restrictions on freedom of movement,
05:26and the ability to have your own employment, and on freedom of speech.
05:36Two years later, Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union and broke free.
05:48Later, many years later, 2003, the United States is involved in the war in Iraq.
05:56I was a soldier in 2003, during Iraqi freedom.
06:06So I was a transportation company commander, permanently stationed in Kuwait.
06:13My transporters ran convoys from the ports in Kuwait up to Iraq, delivering goods for our war fighters.
06:22So I was on a little subcamp in Kuwait, outside of Camp Arifjan.
06:31Half of that subcamp, called Camden Yards, was occupied by American forces.
06:38My soldiers and I lived on that subcamp.
06:41The other half of the camp was occupied by other forces.
06:48Those other forces were Ukrainian soldiers.
06:58Ukraine's not part of NATO.
07:00They were not required to support the United States of America in Iraq.
07:07But Ukraine, of its own volition, sent their soldiers, and not just as support elements.
07:18They were there as combat forces.
07:24So again, I was a transporter.
07:27We ran convoys in Iraq.
07:30The other half of that camp that I lived on, they were Ukrainian engineer forces.
07:39They did road clearing.
07:43And I think back, how many American lives did those engineers save from their road clearing efforts,
07:55clearing bombs, so they wouldn't be detonated by my drivers, Ukrainian forces, combat forces.
08:06Today, Ukraine is fighting its own war.
08:13And I will remind everyone, the United States does not have forces involved in the Russia-Ukraine war.
08:24None.
08:26Zero.
08:27None.
08:28Today, Ukraine fights not only for its own survival,
08:32but for the very principles the United States was founded on.
08:38When America leads, the world is safer.
08:42When we disengage and when we retreat,
08:47like we saw for the last four years under the Biden administration,
08:51chaos fills the void.
08:54Russia's aggression has already cost too many innocent lives,
08:58about 5,000 lives every single week.
09:10Too many innocent lives, folks.
09:12Which is why I support President Trump's efforts to get a peace deal done now.
09:18Vladimir Putin cannot keep tapping the United States of America along.
09:24I vow to keep working with my colleagues to equip the President with all the tools necessary
09:34to hold Russia accountable, including sanctioning Russia and its supporters,
09:42if they continue to drag out these peace talks and carry on with the needless bloodshed.
09:50So, this war that never should have started can come to an end.
09:58Thank you, Mr. President.
10:00I yield the floor.