Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) joined U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) to pen an op-ed in USA Today ahead of this weekend’s Ukrainian parliamentary elections. The senators renewed their call to provide the capability the Ukrainian military needs to defend her people from the forces that threaten their very existence as an independent state.

Earlier this year, Portman and Cardin traveled to Ukraine to serve as election monitors for Ukraine’s presidential elections.

Excerpts are below and the full op-ed can be found here.

Ukraine violence continues
USA Today
Senator Ben Cardin and Senator Rob Portman
October 24, 2014

Ukrainians head to the polls this weekend for their parliamentary elections. Russian aggression casts a long shadow over this process, as President Putin continues his efforts to deny Ukraine the ability to make its own decisions regarding its own future. Russia is working actively to suppress Ukraine's aspirations towards a freer and more dignified future.
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The insurgents are anything but freedom fighters. They are Russian proxies, financed by Russian rubles, supported by Russian Special Forces, armed with Russian weapons and partly led by former members of the Russian military and intelligence agencies. If Ukraine is to make her people's choice for freedom and democracy a reality, then the Ukrainian armed forces will need the defensive equipment necessary to secure it.
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Aid is important, as is the moral, diplomatic, and political support we have offered to Ukraine. But statements of solidarity don't stop bullets, aid alone doesn't defend borders, and expressions of our commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine will not make it so. It is true that only Ukraine can secure its future, but it will need our help to do it. Ukraine needs defensive military weapons to confront armed assaults; it needs UAVs to monitor its borders and detect violations of its sovereignty; it needs secure communications gear to prevent Russia from accessing Ukrainian plans and troop locations; it needs advanced counter-battery radar. But most importantly, it needs a sustained commitment from the United States and our allies to provide both the quality and the quantity of equipment necessary to preserve its independence.

Five months ago, we led a delegation to Ukraine to oversee an historic presidential election as the people of that country, in the face of Russian aggression, made a determined choice for democracy, freedom and the rule of law. While the upcoming parliamentary election may be different, Russia's aggression remains unchanged.
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President Kennedy once wrote, "We, in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than by choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom." That generation has changed. The threats to freedom have not. Nor has our destiny or our responsibility. The Ukrainian people are ready to stand with us, as are the free people of Europe. But we must stand up for them first. That begins by making good on our commitment to Ukraine and providing the capability the Ukrainian military needs to defend her people from the forces that threaten their very existence as an independent state.