Unidentified speaker denounces Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine and urges U.S. security guarantees

Unidentified Speaker 1, Speaker, said the most dangerous thing facing the world today is "Vladimir Putin's war," calling it an assault "against freedom and the West" and saying Putin has shown no interest in peace talks.

The speaker accused Putin of "mocking the Ukraine peace process" over the past year and said he had "recently launched the biggest air attack the conflict has ever seen," a description the speaker used to argue that Putin seeks military advantage rather than negotiation. The speaker added that "Ukraine should not be forced to give up the sovereign territory it deserves and it currently controls," and that Putin "should not achieve through negotiation what he's not managed to achieve on the battlefield."

The speech included a string of personal characterizations. "Vladimir Putin is unrepentant," the speaker said, calling him "the KGB agent," "a dictator with decades of bloodshed on his hands," "the biggest thief in the history of the world" and "a war criminal who should be behind bars." The speaker also said, "Putin is a liar," and warned U.S. negotiators against trusting him: "We have no reason to smile back at Vladimir Putin or trust him with anything but caution and contempt."

On policy, the speaker urged a formal U.S. role in Ukraine's security arrangements: "The United States should play a role in Ukraine's security guarantees on a permanent basis. The senate should ratify these guarantees if they're ever agreed to," the speaker said. The transcript contains these calls for U.S. involvement and Senate ratification but does not include details on the proposed guarantees' scope or legal form.

A second participant, identified in the transcript only as Unidentified Speaker 2, responded with a brief, contrasting remark: "I get along very well with Putin," and said he had expected the matter to be "one of the easy ones," concluding that it had become "maybe tougher than The Middle East." The transcript does not record further back-and-forth, supporting evidence for the incidents cited, or any formal motion or vote.

The assertions quoted here come from the event transcript and are presented as the speakers' statements. Claims such as "the biggest air attack the conflict has ever seen" were not independently verified in the transcript and are reported as made by the speaker.