DV Journal

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) Monday announced plans to introduce legislation to divest Pennsylvania of any Russian financial assets the commonwealth might hold.

And his fellow Republican, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, is already on the case.

“In light of Russia’s unprovoked attack against Ukraine, a sovereign and democratic nation, the Pennsylvania Treasury immediately began divesting its holdings in all Russian-based companies last week,” said Garrity. “The divestment will be complete by the end of business today (Monday). While these holdings were very minimal, immediate action was necessary to protect Pennsylvania taxpayers and to show our support for Ukraine.”

Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs have the second-largest Ukrainian-American population of any urban area in the country, according to the Census Bureau. (New York City has the largest.)

“Clearly the people of Pennsylvania stand with the people of Ukraine and against this unprovoked Russian aggression,” Benninghoff said in a statement. “Over the weekend, the Liquor Control Board pulled Russian-made vodka from its shelves, something I commend, and the Capitol was lit with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. But I think it is time we start moving beyond symbolism and get to concrete action with what Pennsylvania can do to hold Russia accountable and apply pressure to stop this attack on the innocent people of Ukraine as well as the viability of Eastern Europe.”

“The commonwealth’s public funds represent a substantial amount of investment power. We have a moral obligation to ensure that our public fund investments are not inadvertently supporting those who are engaging in an unprovoked invasion of their democratically elected neighbors,” he added.

According to a co-sponsorship memo released Monday, Benninghoff’s legislation would divest the Commonwealth’s holdings in the State Treasury and pension funds from investments that are connected to the Russian government and its critical supporters.

The effort would expand upon Act 44 of 2010’s divesture of the State Treasury and pension funds from investments related to Iran and Sudan.

On Sunday Gov. Tom Wolf asked the state Liquor Control Board to stop selling Russian products.

“As a consequence of Russia’s horrific actions in launching an unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine, the administration is currently reviewing all commonwealth procurement contracts to ensure that we are not providing any financial support to Russia,” said Elizabeth Rementer, the governor’s press secretary. “We support the Treasurer’s action to divest from Russian assets and would review legislation that would further divest from Russian financial assets. We also applaud PLCB for taking swift action to remove and cease selling Russian-sourced products.”

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A SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) code is almost always required when you are party to an international money transfer. SWIFT is what allows a specific bank account to be identified in an international banking transaction. Without the use of a SWIFT, generally, it is impractical or impossible to make an international transfer.

That is why SWIFT has gone viral on social media and in the news this week. As part of a package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of democratic Ukraine, SWIFT was at its core.

Banning Russia and wealthy Russians from SWIFT is arguably the most powerful economic weapon the world has to stop Russian aggression. Assuming that the hypothesis that Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking a huge gamble in invading Ukraine and risking an ongoing conflict that could lead to deep internal fissures in his power base in Russia, what financial weapon could be more powerful against him than SWIFT?

Adriana Gonzalez, a Florida lawyer, explains that SWIFT has massive practical importance for Russia:

“Given the fact that SWIFT has over 11,000 financial institutions around the world, any nation that sells a massive amount of a resource – as Russia does with gas and oil – will find themselves hard-pressed to find a viable legal option to receive funds if they are no longer allowed on the SWIFT system.”

On Thursday, rather than blocking Russian access to SWIFT, President Joe Biden explained the United States, joined by the European Union and the United Kingdom, would not block Russia from SWIFT. Instead, Biden is leaving the threat of a SWIFT ban on the table and is, for now, blocking the five largest Russian banks from the U.S. banking system.

But that decision came down around 10 hours before the Russian invasion of Ukraine hit the capital city, Kyiv. The move could and should be a game-changer for the allies, as this should be viewed as something that the United States actually minds enough to immediately ramp up sanctions as a message to Russia that this heightened aggression will not stand.

On Saturday evening, the U.S. and the European Commission along with Canada, France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K. announced they were expelling select Russian financial institutions from SWIFT.

If Russia is entirely removed from the SWIFT system, it has two practical options. For transactions limited to within Russia, they have their own version of SWIFT – the System for Transfer of Financial Messages. After Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and feared that its SWIFT access would be revoked, it built this internal system.

The other option is, of course, cryptocurrency. Yet only the most ardent enthusiasts of crypto believe that such an incendiary currency is a wise base upon which to sustain an economy, even in the short term. The internal pressure the most powerful Russian businesses could put on the Putin regime if faced with wildly fluctuating payment options for their goods and services could be extreme.

Sanction options can change as quickly as the situation on the ground and in their skies over Kyiv, so this is a rapidly-evolving story that will be closely watched by all of the allies and by Russia itself as it considers its next moves.

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Delaware Valley residents with ties to Ukraine are watching in horror as the Russian army rolls toward Kyiv.

Many came to a rally at City Hall in Philadelphia Friday to show their support for the beleaguered country.

At Manor College in Abington, founded 75 years ago by the Ukrainian Sisters of St. Basil the Great, students and staff held a Zoom service Friday to pray for Ukraine. Signs with the message “Pray for Peace in Ukraine” abound on campus.  Many students, alumni, and staff at the small college have relatives in Ukraine.

Nicholas Rudnytzky, the college’s dean of academic services, grew up in Philadelphia. His parents immigrated from Ukraine after World War II. He still has family in Lviv in the western part of Ukraine, which is “very far from the front lines.”

Nicolas Rudnytzky

“They’re fine,” he said about his relatives. “They’re mad. They’re angry. Like most of the country, they’re defiant.”

Asked if they intend to fight, Rudnytzky said they do but added, “the Russian war machine is ranked third in the world.”

While it is shocking that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army is invading Ukraine, in some ways, it is not, he said.

For one thing, the world did very little when Putin took Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, he said. And Russia and the Soviet Union have a centuries-long history of oppressing the Ukrainians.

“A good contingent of the Ukrainian community was expecting this,” said Rudnytzky. “Moscow had repeatedly denied our existence. The czarist government of the past made our language illegal. In 1946, the Russian Orthodox Church liquidated the Ukrainian Catholic Church.” Clergy were exiled, leaders killed or sent to Siberia. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin created a deliberate famine in Ukraine in the 1930s that killed millions.

“They committed genocide against our people,” said Rudnytzky. “This is horrifying that in the 21st century, in Europe, such a thing could happen.”

He questioned the efficacy of the United Nations and NATO. If it were somewhere else and did not involve Russia, “we’d have U.N. peacekeeping troops.”

In the 1990s, the U.S., Great Britain, and Russia signed an agreement with Ukraine, saying they would protect it if it gave up its nuclear weapons, he noted.

“We promised we’d protect them. But when Russia took Crimea, everyone looked the other way.

“Now there is a huge contingent wondering whether China will take a lesson from Russia,” he said. “This is an attack on a democracy in Europe.”

Eugene Luciw

Eugene Luciw is also the son of Ukrainian immigrants. He is the president of the Philadelphia branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and director of external relations for the Ukrainian Sports Center and Ukrainian National Soccer Club in Horsham.

He agreed Putin was emboldened by the lackluster response to his theft of the Crimea.

“Mr. Putin takes to weakness like a shark takes to blood in the water,” Luciw said.

He has relatives and friends in Ukraine.

“Many of them are in bunkers, in subways,” he said. “My heart is there with them. In the modern world, people I had visiting in the United States are in bomb shelters and subways trying to stay alive.”

The attack is personal for Luciw.

Leonard Mazur

“I feel violated,” he said. And the world order is now changed where “a heavily militarized imperial power can simply take another country over.”

Leonard Mazur, a Manor College trustee and chairman of the college’s Ukrainian Community Committee, said his parents also fled Ukraine after World War II, and his mother had been in a German forced labor camp during the war.

“What’s happening here is a tragedy,” said Mazur, who is appalled that “the world is standing by, letting this happen. I don’t know how people, how governments that have any degree of morality can do that. It’s awful.”

Putin is taking over a country “under false pretenses,” he said. He urged people to talk to their representatives, senators, and the White House to put still stronger sanctions in place and that the U.S. arms Ukraine so its citizens can fight back.

“How do you just stand by and watch people get slaughtered?” he asked.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Putin and other top Russian officials on Friday.

A sign at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia.

And on the prayer front, Philadelphia Archbishop Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez w celebrated a Mass for the intention of peace in Ukraine, the Ukrainian People, and the Ukrainian community in Philadelphia this Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Philadelphia was packed Sunday morning as people offered prayers for the war to end.

Tatayna Lylyk, a congregant, said, there are “a lot of reasons” for the war but the main one is Putin and “rich people who want power.”

Lylyk came to Philadelphia in 2002 from Kyiv when she was 36 but most of her family and many friends remain in Ukraine.  she is worried about them and fears for the future.

“It is prohibited to come out from “your” home,” she said. “There are saboteurs on the streets which want to help Putin  in this war. (But) people stay for their homeland.”

“Why (does Putin) need our Ukraine? I think he’s crazy. I think he’s scared in some way. He is wrong in his mind,” she said.

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The descent of eastern Europe into war is like an excruciating movie in which you have to fear the worst.

You can’t believe that Russia’s Vladimir Putin would have marshaled all those forces within shooting distance of Ukraine without planning to use them. You know you have to accept the tragic news that people will be killing one another across a corner of the region that few of us could have spotted on a map until all TV networks began showing us where the Russians would strike.

Putin and his ministers and assorted flunkeys presented one distortion after another in what was described as a press conference in which they mouthed every rationale imaginable for going to war. The only relief came in the prospect of more dialogue as enunciated by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov while Putin looked on silently like a master approving the carefully rehearsed words of his loyal servants.

It would be difficult to sort out all the nonsense they were talking about, but what sticks are repeated claims that the Ukraine forces, with the blessing of the 30 NATO nations led by the U.S., have been opening artillery and rifle fire across the line in the southeastern  Donbass region. The fact that this region was part of Ukraine until a few years ago is irrelevant. Now the Russians are saying it’s divided between two “people’s republics,” Donetsk and Luhansk, which should even be recognized as independent countries.

Putin gives the appearance of a beast of prey sizing up his next dinner before pouncing. It’s hard to know why he wants to conquer a nation where millions died under the control of the former Soviet Union in the 1930s, but obviously plain and simple nationalism underlies the whole crisis.

In that sense, Putin bears comparison to Xi Jinping in China and Kim Jong-un in North Korea. Xi’s burning ambition is to recover Taiwan, the island province that remained independent after the victory of Mao Zedong’s Red Army in 1949. Kim Jong-un, of course, would like to atone for the failure of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, to take over the south in the Korean War by uniting the Korean peninsula under his rule.

Both Xi and Kim would appear to have enough common sense not to risk wars in which millions would die. Xi cannot be sure the Americans and probably the Japanese would not rush to Taiwan’s defense, repelling his forces in the Formosa or Taiwan Straits, and Kim has to worry about the Americans, again with the backing of Japan, turning back invasion of the south. Better to test-fire missiles and fabricate nuclear devices, Kim seems to believe, than to take chances on a war in which his regime might not survive.

You have to hope Putin would also have that much common sense. The ultimate consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine could be a European or even another world war. The war might not reach those proportions right away, but expansion of the conflict would be likely when considering Russian ambitions.

It’s not just that the Russians piled up every pretext they could think of to cross the line into Ukraine. Bearing in mind that revenge and a return to the greatness of the Soviet Union in its finest hours would be a prime motive, Putin soon would want to recover other former satellites. They already have Belarus under dictator Alexander Lukashenko in their orbit, so much so that Russian troops have been training there above Ukraine’s northern frontier.

The Russians want more. How about Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? They’re ripe for the taking, on the Baltic, exposed to Russia with no other neighboring power to guarantee safety and permanent independence. Lithuania does share a brief common border with Poland, but Poland was divided between Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union before those two evil tyrants went to war with one another in mid-1941. Poland, after the German surrender four years later, fell under Soviet rule.

We should look at the expansion of the Soviet Union to encompass eastern Europe, and much of Central Asia too, in terms of Russian nationalism rather than communism. Putin, by gnawing away at Ukraine, sees himself avenging the wrong of the breakup of the Soviet empire. Similarly, Kim Jong-un, as he threatens his enemies with nukes and missiles, dreams of some day leading a united Korea, avenging 35 years of Japanese colonial rule and the division of Korea by the U.S. and USSR after the Japanese surrender.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has plunged Europe into crisis with his invasion of Ukraine. His stated goals are to destabilize the country to bring the nation back under Russia’s control. In response, it’s time we hit Putin where he knows it will hurt – through the energy sector. Unfortunately, there’s been a raft of bad policy decisions at the state and federal levels that need to be reversed to make this happen.

The United States and the European Union are discussing economic sanctions against Russia for its violations of international order. But at the same time, due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure and regulatory pressure to reduce domestic production from the Biden administration, the U.S. has dramatically increased the volume of imported Russian oil. Federal energy regulators note that in 2021, imports of Russian oil doubled year-over-yearto the highest level in a decade. Russia is now, unfathomably, the second-highest exporter of oil to the United States. Oil is by far Russia’s biggest and most profitable export – and it’s time to shut that off. In the meantime, America and its neighbors in Canada and Mexico have abundant supplies of oil to replace this resource. But we need leadership in Washington.

Instead, due to litigation from environmental groups, exploration of new resources on federal lands has stalled. Just days ago, the Biden administration announced it was pausing any new drilling on federal lands. At the same time, federal officials have revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought in much-needed energy from our biggest trading partner, Canada. The Biden administration has also waffled on whether or not to oppose Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s attempts to vacate another critical pipeline, Line 5, which brings in oil that supplies the Great Lakes region, including to the Pittsburgh Airport.

Shutting down Russian imports in exchange for North American energy wouldn’t just hurt Russia – it would be a net win for the environment. Russian energy production is notoriously lax on environmental standards, with Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm going so far to say their production is “the dirtiest on earth,” with fugitive emission rates orders of magnitude above US standards. Despite this, Russia has been granted permission under the Paris climate accords to increase its greenhouse gas emissions by a whopping 34% by the end of the decade. In contrast, America and Canada have among the most stringent production standards globally – not to mention that the United States has led the developed world in reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the past two decades.

Pennsylvania has helped the United States achieve those reductions through its competitive markets and leadership production in shale gas. Our state is now the number two producer of natural gas and the leader in energy exports to other states. Unfortunately, neighboring states like New York and New Jersey have blocked new pipeline construction, to the applause of environmental groups. The result? Power prices and emissions have skyrocketed, and New England has infamously imported Russian gas into its terminal near Boston to keep the lights on in the winter. New England has also had to turn to fuel oil to prevent blackouts, resulting in a 44% increase in greenhouse gas emissions this past winter.

There are economic consequences to shutting down pipelines. Look no further than Germany announcing this week it is suspending the operating permit for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would have imported Russian gas into Europe, in response to Putin’s aggression. As European foreign policy analyst Bruno Macaes once said, pipelines are the continuation of war by other means. Yet Pennsylvania has been hamstrung in its ability to deliver reliable energy to its neighbors and abroad. We have enough natural gas to grow markets here (and reduce emissions) while also exporting more clean-burning fuel to allies in Europe, India and Asia. But the Biden administration has not greenlit any new LNG export or pipeline infrastructure. Domestic LNG cargoes are also forbidden, by the perverse consequences of the protectionist Jones Act, from being delivered to other domestic ports – meaning we can export LNG from Houston and the Gulf for $4.50 per million cubic feet but New England has to import it from much more emissions-intensive locales – like Russia – for seven times more.

Let there be no doubt – private industry in the United States is deploying billions of dollars into low- and zero-carbon energy technologies every year as they execute sustainability plans. In the meantime, there is a great and growing international demand for fossil fuels. Putin knows responsibly produced North American energy reduce revenues for his war machine. That’s why he said in 2013 that shale is a danger and must be stopped, and why NATO Secretary General Rasmussen announced in 2014the defense consortium had intelligence Putin was funding anti-fossil fuel environmental groups (which Hillary Clinton herself confirmed in the run-up to the 2016 election).

Putin’s aggression cannot be left unchecked. To help keep the peace and to build a more sustainable global future, America’s prolific energy resources must be leveraged to the maximum. We can no longer afford state and federal energy policy that accommodates and enriches Russia.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin should suffer sanctions regardless of whether he pulls back from attacking in Ukraine. He has already violated his neighbor and an attack will be additive. His tyrannical bullying has to be addressed now — and later.

The Russian dictator has pushed Ukraine to the brink of annihilation. He caused NATO to expend resources needlessly. He has threatened the international economic system with calamitous failure. He essentially has wrested control of Belarus.

Yet now, international leaders are intent on affecting Putin’s decision to attack as though that in and of itself is sufficient. We have to acknowledge Putin’s wrongdoing and decide to punish him now for what he has already done, and more if he continues.

He has proven he is a malignant actor. Even without a full-scale invasion, Ukrainian troops died during what was likely a provocation in hopes Ukraine will attack and thus give license for Russia to launch a larger incursion.

The attack was labeled as, “shelling by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine.” Read that as meaning it was directed by Russia.

Russian troops, now totaling an estimated 150,000 ground forces, , in addition to innumerable aircraft at the ready and ships available in the Black Sea, are poised in position for attack. That’s an act of war even if he moves no farther into Ukraine.

Belarus allowed Russia access to its territory to terrorize Ukraine. Russia was ostensibly in Belarus for training, but now that the scheduled training period has ended, they have decided to remain in place.

Even the dopes in Belarus did not likely understand that Russian troops would occupy their land on a permanent basis. Some will suggest that by cozying up to Putin Belarus had it coming but Putin’s annexation of Belarus is not good for anyone and we must demand the evacuation of Russian forces.

Putin must pay.

Make the of economic sanctions being considered public now.

Several items on the list should be painful and immediate.

The rest could come after the invasion.

The claim by Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby that if sanctions were executed now Russia would have no reason to pull back can be dismissed out of hand. (It is hard to believe that the Pentagon and White House really discussed this idea and thought it was valid).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the international community to “develop an effective package of preventive sanctions to deter aggression.” His logic is unassailable.

“I agree with President Zelensky, sanctions are no good after the shooting starts,” said former Veterans Affairs Secretary and former Undersecretary of Defense Robert Wilkie in an email. “If Biden was serious, he would have slapped sanctions on in March telling Putin they come off when you pull your troops back.”

One sanction that will gain the attention of other would-be tyrants is to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline permanently. Dismantle it. The West should state that no such project can take place for a minimum of 20 years. Let Putin and the rest of the world know this is the price for terror. (Then ask Beijing if the Chinese Communist Party is paying attention). Should Biden decide to reverse his energy policy that limits U.S. production of energy, he could almost immediately soften the blow for Europe by increasing U.S. exports of energy beyond current levels.

The West must make demands. Putin has to clearly understand there is no upside in this matter for him or his regime. He has already made a gross error in judgment and an invasion would simply exacerbate what he has done.

On February 20, the Biden administration announced it agreed in “principle” to meet with Putin to discuss “security and strategic stability in Europe.” Such discussions hopefully will not devolve into granting Putin concessions of any kind. It remains to be seen how such talks–if they occur–will cause Russia to pull back from Ukraine’s border.

It also remains to be seen what role Ukraine plays in any meeting. It is, after all, Ukraine that would be discussed. Any meetings without an active Ukrainian involvement portray to Russia that the U.S. sees Ukraine as an inferior and that this matter is for the major players.

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With a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine in the offing, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan is joining a congressional delegation to visit that country.

The Pentagon put 8,500 U.S. troops on heightened alert Monday as President Joe Biden considers his options. Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased the presence of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border sparking international concerns.

“As a member of both the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, it is my responsibility to conduct oversight on matters of national security,” said Houlahan (D-Chester), in a press release. “This trip will enable the Congress to strengthen relationships with our allies—I look forward to the valuable insight meeting with senior Ukrainian officials will provide.”

In Brussels, the congressional delegation will meet with representatives from NATO, the European Union, and NATO and EU member states to discuss the security situation in Eastern Europe and the buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine’s border and in Belarus.

In Kyiv, the delegation will meet with senior Ukrainian officials to discuss the security situation and reinforce U.S. support for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to the release.

Joining Houlahan are House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Colin Allred (D-Texas), Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Mark Green (R-Tenn.), August Pfluger (R-Texas), Mikie Sherill (D-N.J.), and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.).  

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, engineer, entrepreneur, educator, and nonprofit leader. She also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Small Business Committee.

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