22 USC 8906 - Enhanced security cooperation with Ukraine and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe

Collapse to view only § 8906. Enhanced security cooperation with Ukraine and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe

§ 8901. Definitions
§ 8902. United States policy toward Ukraine
§ 8903. Provision of costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine
§ 8904. Recovery of assets linked to governmental corruption in Ukraine
§ 8905. Democracy, civil society, governance, and technical assistance for Ukraine and other states in Central and Eastern Europe
§ 8906. Enhanced security cooperation with Ukraine and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe
§ 8907. Sanctions on persons responsible for violence or undermining the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine
§ 8908. Sanctions on persons in the Russian Federation complicit in or responsible for significant corruption
§ 8909. Mandatory imposition of sanctions with respect to certain transactions with persons that evade sanctions imposed with respect to the Russian Federation
§ 8910. Mandatory imposition of sanctions with respect to transactions with persons responsible for human rights abuses

§ 8901. Definitions

In this chapter:

(1) Alien

(2) Appropriate congressional committees

The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Appropriations, and the majority leader and minority leader of the Senate; and

(B) the Committee on Financial Services 1

1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives.

(3) Materially assisted

(4) United States person

The term “United States person” means—

(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or

(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 2, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1088; Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 228(b), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 914.)

§ 8902. United States policy toward Ukraine

It is the policy of the United States—

(1) to condemn the unjustified military intervention of the Russian Federation in the Crimea region of Ukraine and its concurrent occupation of that region, as well as any other form of political, economic, or military aggression against Ukraine;

(2) to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to, and to remind Russia of its ongoing commitment to, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, which was executed jointly with the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom and explicitly secures the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and borders of Ukraine, and to demand the immediate cessation of improper activities, including the seizures of airfields and other locations, and the immediate return of Russian forces to their barracks;

(3) to work with United States partners in the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and at the United Nations to ensure that all nations recognize and not undermine, nor seek to undermine, the independence, sovereignty, or territorial or economic integrity of Ukraine;

(4) to use all appropriate economic elements of United States national power, in coordination with United States allies, to protect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial and economic integrity of Ukraine;

(5) to support the people of Ukraine in their desire to forge closer ties with Europe, including signing an Association Agreement with the European Union as a means to address endemic corruption, consolidate democracy, and achieve sustained prosperity;

(6) to use the voice and vote of the United States to secure sufficient resources through the International Monetary Fund to support needed economic structural reforms in Ukraine under conditions that will reinforce a sovereign decision by the Government of Ukraine to sign and implement an association agreement with the European Union;

(7) to help the Government of Ukraine prepare for the presidential election in May 2014;

(8) to reinforce the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to bring to justice those responsible for the acts of violence against peaceful protestors and other unprovoked acts of violence related to the antigovernment protests in 1

1 So in original.

that began on November 21, 2013;

(9) to support the efforts of the Government of Ukraine to recover and return to the Ukrainian state funds stolen by former President Yanukovych, his family, and other current and former members of the Ukrainian government and elites;

(10) to support the continued professionalization of the Ukrainian military;

(11) to condemn economic extortion by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, and other countries in the region designed to obstruct closer ties between the European Union and the countries of the Eastern Partnership and to reduce the harmful consequences of such extortion;

(12) to condemn the continuing and long-standing pattern and practice by the Government of the Russian Federation of physical and economic aggression toward neighboring countries;

(13) to enhance and extend our security cooperation with, security assistance to, and military exercises conducted with, states in Central and Eastern Europe, including North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, NATO aspirants, and appropriate Eastern Partnership countries;

(14) to reaffirm United States defense commitments to its treaty allies under Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty;

(15) that the continued participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of Eight (G–8) nations should be conditioned on the Government of the Russian Federation respecting the territorial integrity of its neighbors and accepting and adhering to the norms and standards of free, democratic societies as generally practiced by every other member nation of the G–8 nations;

(16) to explore ways for the United States Government to assist the countries of Central and Eastern Europe to diversify their energy sources and achieve energy security; and

(17) to ensure the United States maintains its predominant leadership position and influence within the International Monetary Fund, and to guarantee the International Monetary Fund has the resources and governance structure necessary to support structural reforms in Ukraine and respond to and prevent a potentially serious financial crisis in Ukraine or other foreign economic crises that threatens United States national security.

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 3, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1088.)

§ 8903. Provision of costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine

(a) In general

(b) Inapplicability of certain limitations

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 4, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1090.)

§ 8904. Recovery of assets linked to governmental corruption in Ukraine

(a) Asset recovery

(b) Coordination

(d) Priority assigned

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 5, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1090.)

§ 8905. Democracy, civil society, governance, and technical assistance for Ukraine and other states in Central and Eastern Europe

(a) In general

The Secretary of State shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, directly or through nongovernmental organizations—

(1) improve democratic governance, transparency, accountability, rule of law, and anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine;

(2) support efforts by the Government of Ukraine to foster greater unity among the people and regions of the country;

(3) support the people and Government of Ukraine in preparing to conduct and contest free and fair elections, including through domestic and international election monitoring;

(4) assist in diversifying Ukraine’s economy, trade, and energy supplies, including at the national, regional, and local levels;

(5) strengthen democratic institutions and political and civil society organizations in Ukraine;

(6) expand free and unfettered access to independent media of all kinds in Ukraine and assist with the protection of journalists and civil society activists who have been targeted for free speech activities;

(7) support political and economic reform initiatives by Eastern Partnership countries; and

(8) support the efforts of the Government of Ukraine, civil society, and international organizations to enhance the economic and political empowerment of women in Ukraine and to prevent and address violence against women and girls in Ukraine, and support the inclusion of women in Ukraine in any negotiations to restore Ukraine’s security, independence, sovereignty, or territorial or economic integrity.

(b) Authorization of appropriations

(d) Notification requirement

(1) In general

(2) Waiver

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 6, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1091.)

§ 8906. Enhanced security cooperation with Ukraine and other countries in Central and Eastern Europe

(a) In general

The President shall, subject to the availability of appropriations—

(1) enhance security cooperation efforts and relationships amongst countries in Central and Eastern Europe and among the United States, the European Union, and countries in Central and Eastern Europe;

(2) provide additional security assistance, including defense articles and defense services (as those terms are defined in section 2794 of this title) and military training, to countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine; and

(3) support greater reform, professionalism, and capacity-building efforts within the military, intelligence, and security services in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine.

(b) Authorization of appropriations

(d) Notification requirement

(1) In general

(2) Waiver

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 7, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1092.)

§ 8907. Sanctions on persons responsible for violence or undermining the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine

(a) In general

The President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to—

(1) any person, including a current or former official of the Government of Ukraine or a person acting on behalf of that Government, that the President determines has perpetrated, or is responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, significant acts of violence or gross human rights abuses in Ukraine against persons associated with the antigovernment protests in Ukraine that began on November 21, 2013;

(2) any person that the President determines has perpetrated, or is responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, significant acts that are intended to undermine the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine, including acts of economic extortion;

(3) any official of the Government of the Russian Federation, or a close associate or family member of such an official, that the President determines is responsible for, complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption in Ukraine, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; and

(4) any individual that the President determines materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, the commission of acts described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3).

(b) Sanctions described

(1) In general

The sanctions described in this subsection are the following:

(A) Asset blocking

(B) Exclusion from the United States and revocation of visa or other documentation

(2) Penalties

(3) Exception relating to the importation of goods

(A) In general

(B) Good defined

(4) Exception to comply with United Nations headquarters agreement

The President may waive the application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President—

(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States; and

(2) on or before the date on which the waiver takes effect, submits to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a notice of and a justification for the waiver.

(d) Termination

Subject to section 9511 of this title, the President may terminate the application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees a notice that—

(1) the person is not engaging in the activity that was the basis for the sanctions or has taken significant verifiable steps toward stopping the activity; and

(2) the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in activity subject to sanctions under subsection (a) in the future.

(e) Regulatory authority

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 8, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1093; Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 230(a), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 915.)

§ 8908. Sanctions on persons in the Russian Federation complicit in or responsible for significant corruption

(a) In generalThe President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to—

(1) any official of the Government of the Russian Federation, or a close associate or family member of such an official, that the President determines is, on or after August 2, 2017, responsible for, or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption in the Russian Federation or elsewhere, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; and

(2) any individual who has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, an act described in paragraph (1).

(b) Sanctions described

(1) In generalThe sanctions described in this subsection are the following:

(A) Asset blocking

(B) Exclusion from the United States and revocation of visa or other documentation

(2) Penalties

(3) Exception relating to the importation of goods

(A) In general

(B) Good defined

(4) Exception to comply with United Nations headquarters agreement

2 So in original. Probably should be capitalized.

as provided in subsection (d), the President may waive the application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President—

(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States; and

(d) TerminationSubject to section 9511 of this title, the President may terminate the application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees a notice that—

(1) the person is not engaging in the activity that was the basis for the sanctions or has taken significant verifiable steps toward stopping the activity; and

(2) the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in activity subject to sanctions under subsection (a) in the future.

(e)3

3 So in original. Two subsecs. (e) have been enacted.

Application of new sanctionsThe President may waive the initial application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person only if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1) a written determination that the waiver—

(A) is in the vital national security interests of the United States; or

(B) will further the enforcement of this chapter; and

(2) a certification that the Government of the Russian Federation is taking steps to implement the Minsk Agreement to address the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, signed in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany, the Minsk Protocol, which was agreed to on September 5, 2014, and any successor agreements that are agreed to by the Government of Ukraine.

(e)3 Regulatory authority

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 9, Apr. 3, 2014, 128 Stat. 1094; Pub. L. 115–44, title II, §§ 227, 230(b), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 910, 916.)

§ 8909. Mandatory imposition of sanctions with respect to certain transactions with persons that evade sanctions imposed with respect to the Russian Federation

(a) In generalThe President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person if the President determines that the foreign person knowingly, on or after August 2, 2017—

(1) materially violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any license, order, regulation, or prohibition contained in or issued pursuant to any covered Executive order, this chapter, or the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8921 et seq.); or

(2) facilitates a significant transaction or transactions, including deceptive or structured transactions, for or on behalf of—

(A) any person subject to sanctions imposed by the United States with respect to the Russian Federation; or

(B) any child, spouse, parent, or sibling of an individual described in subparagraph (A).

(b) Sanctions described

(1) Implementation

(2) Penalties

(d) Application of new sanctionsThe President may waive the initial application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person only if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1) a written determination that the waiver—

(A) is in the vital national security interests of the United States; or

(B) will further the enforcement of this chapter;

(2) in the case of sanctions imposed under this section in connection with a covered Executive order described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of subsection (f)(1), a certification that the Government of the Russian Federation is taking steps to implement the Minsk Agreement to address the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, signed in Minsk, Belarus, on February 11, 2015, by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany, the Minsk Protocol, which was agreed to on September 5, 2014, and any successor agreements that are agreed to by the Government of Ukraine; and

(3) in the case of sanctions imposed under this section in connection with a covered Executive order described in subparagraphs (E) or (F) of subsection (f)(1), a certification that the Government of the Russian Federation has made significant efforts to reduce the number and intensity of cyber intrusions conducted by that Government.

(e) TerminationSubject to section 9511 of this title, the President may terminate the application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1) a notice of and justification for the termination; and

(2) a notice that—

(A) the person is not engaging in the activity that was the basis for the sanctions or has taken significant verifiable steps toward stopping the activity; and

(B) the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in activity subject to sanctions under subsection (a) in the future.

(f) DefinitionsIn this section:

(1) Covered executive orderThe term “covered Executive order” means any of the following:

(A) Executive Order No. 13660 (79 Fed. Reg. 13493; relating to blocking property of certain persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine).

(B) Executive Order No. 13661 (79 Fed. Reg. 15535; relating to blocking property of additional persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine).

(C) Executive Order No. 13662 (79 Fed. Reg. 16169; relating to blocking property of additional persons contributing to the situation in Ukraine).

(D) Executive Order No. 13685 (79 Fed. Reg. 77357; relating to blocking property of certain persons and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to the Crimea region of Ukraine).

(E) Executive Order No. 13694 (80 Fed. Reg. 18077; relating to blocking the property of certain persons engaging in significant malicious cyber-enabled activities), relating to the Russian Federation.

(F) Executive Order No. 13757 (82 Fed. Reg. 1; relating to taking additional steps to address the national emergency with respect to significant malicious cyber-enabled activities), relating to the Russian Federation.

(2) Foreign person

(3) Structured

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 10, as added Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 228(a), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 911.)

§ 8910. Mandatory imposition of sanctions with respect to transactions with persons responsible for human rights abuses

(a) In generalThe President shall impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person if the President determines that the foreign person, based on credible information, on or after August 2, 2017—

(1) is responsible for, complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses in any territory forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation;

(2) materially assists, sponsors, or provides financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to, a foreign person described in paragraph (1); or

(3) is owned or controlled by, or acts or purports to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a foreign person described in paragraph (1).

(b) Sanctions described

(1) Asset blocking

(2) Exclusion from the United States and revocation of visa or other documentation

(c) Application of new sanctionsThe President may waive the initial application of sanctions under subsection (b) with respect to a person only if the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees—

(1) a written determination that the waiver—

(A) is in the vital national security interests of the United States; or

(B) will further the enforcement of this chapter; and

(2) a certification that the Government of the Russian Federation has made efforts to reduce serious human rights abuses in territory forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by that Government.

(d) Implementation; penalties

(1) Implementation

(2) Penalties

(1) a notice of and justification for the termination; and

(2) a notice—

(A) that—

(i) the person is not engaging in the activity that was the basis for the sanctions or has taken significant verifiable steps toward stopping the activity; and

(ii) the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in activity subject to sanctions under subsection (a) in the future; or

(B) that the President determines that insufficient basis exists for the determination by the President under subsection (a) with respect to the person.

(Pub. L. 113–95, § 11, as added Pub. L. 115–44, title II, § 228(a), Aug. 2, 2017, 131 Stat. 913.)