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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (OH-10)moderated a “Beyond the SCIF” panel at the Atlantic Council about Ukraine’s priorities in its fight against Russian aggression.

What Was Discussed

• The threat that Russia poses to Ukrainian security and prosperity.

• Vladimir Putinaims to restore effective control over the countries that once made up the Soviet Union.

“Certainly, Ukraine and Russia are one of the top issues that we see around the world. It’s one of those issues…that you look to how do we deal with Russia? How do we deal with the issue that we have atrocities that are occurring in Europe once again? And also, how do we formulate the United States’ role?” – Chairman Mike Turner

Notable Quotes

“Putin is pursuing a revisionist foreign policy – a policy designed, in fact, to undermine American interests, especially in Europe and beyond…If Putin wins his war in Ukraine, we will see major provocations beyond the current provocations…If we don’t want to have to deal with a Russian strike on NATO, let’s help Ukraine defeat Putin in Ukraine. That is a vital interest of the United States…We have a critical interest in Putin’s defeat in Ukraine.”

– John Herbst

“Russia continues to be a major, top-tier strategic adversary of the United States…It’s been my assessment that Russia, specifically Putin, has long desired to undermine the United States and the U.S. system of alliance in Europe – contesting the United States in various parts of the world but most acutely where the United States has great influence in the NATO alliance in Europe. It was because of China’s rise and China’s backing of Putin and the relationship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin that Putin had the confidence to launch this full-scale invasion in February of 2022.”

– Rebecca Heinrichs

“A win for Russia is a win for China – it’s a win for other adversaries that we’re looking to defeat around the world…Support for Ukraine is support for how we want to govern ourselves and how we want to live our lives throughout Europe, the United States, and the West. Pushing that strict interpretation of deciding what you want to be and where you want to be in your country is vitally important, and support to Ukraine is an absolutely critical piece of that.”

– Catherine Sendak

“We have Russia basically, without any provocation, without any justification, invading another country. This is a violation of the principle of sovereignty. This is a violation of the rules, regulations, and principles that have been the basis for peace and prosperity throughout the globe over the last seventy years…Putin will not stop with Ukraine. He will go on…China is watching very carefully what Russia is getting away with in Ukraine, and it is measuring that against its aspirations regarding Taiwan. So, what happens in Ukraine doesn’t stay in Ukraine.”

– Ian Brzezinski

Panel Speakers:

• Congressman Mike Turner, Chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

• John Herbst, former United States Ambassador to Ukraine; former United States Ambassador to Uzbekistan; former United States Consul General in Jerusalem; Senior Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council

• Rebecca Heinrichs, Senior Fellow & Director, Keystone Defense Initiative, Hudson Institute

• Catherine Sendak, Director, Transatlantic Defense and Security Program, Center for European Policy and Analysis (CEPA); former Principal Director for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy

• Ian Brzezinski, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO Policy; Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; Principal, Brzezinski Group, LLC