Coalition Urges Biden to Release Congressionally-Mandated, Unclassified Strategy for the Ukraine War 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jessica Rosenblum, Quincy Institute, [email protected]

13 faith-based, human rights, open government and think tank orgs urge the White House to publish its strategy on Russia’s war in Ukraine

WASHINGTON, DC — As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds on, 13 organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration urging the White House to “set an example of democratic accountability” by complying with the law that requires the release of an unclassified version of their Ukraine strategy.

“As the war in Ukraine persists without an end in sight, it’s clear Washington needs to put more thought into how the U.S. can best support Ukraine. We don’t want a situation where we’re engaged in a war without an achievable plan for victory. That’s not good for Ukraine or the United States,” said Tori Bateman, Advocacy Director of the Quincy Institute. “The organizations behind this letter demonstrate that having a strategy in Ukraine isn’t a partisan issue – it’s something people who care about human life and government transparency can agree needs to be carefully considered,” she added. 

The Biden administration was required to release such a strategy after Section 504 of the FY2024 National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act was enacted in April, requiring the White House to prepare a strategy for engagement in Ukraine, which would “be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.” Instead, the White House has submitted an entirely classified report to these committees — leaving the American people without an opportunity to evaluate the strategy and, if necessary, call on the Administration to offer a more robust diplomatic component.  

“It is critical that our government institutions and officials are held to rigorous ethical standards of honesty, accountability and transparency. Secrecy erodes the government’s accountability to the people,” said Ursala Knudsen-Latta, the Legislative Director for Peacebuilding Policy for the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “President Biden’s refusal to fulfill the congressional mandate by releasing an unclassified strategy for U.S. engagement in Ukraine hampers the public’s ability to know what their government is doing and to hold their government accountable to their values,” she added.

The groups highlighted the human suffering caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine — which has forced six million people to flee from Ukraine, and killed more than ten thousand civilians — and lamented the lack of progress toward a negotiated solution that would enable Ukraine to recover and rebuild a democratic, prosperous future, writing that they “hope that the strategy submitted includes plans for robust diplomatic engagement.”

The letter was signed by 13 faith-based, humanitarian, human rights, think tank, and open government organizations including the Quincy Institute, Friends Committee on National Legislation, American Friends Service Committee, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security, Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding Policy, Demand Progress Education Fund, Just Foreign Policy, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action, Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness, Project On Government Oversight, and The United Church of Christ. 

The full text of the letter, including a complete list of the signers, follows below.


The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. 

President of the United States 

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW 

Washington, DC 20500 

The Honorable Antony Blinken

United States Secretary of State

The State Department

Washington, DC 20500

The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III

Secretary of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and Secretary Austin,

We the 13 undersigned organizations, representing faith-based, humanitarian, human rights, think tank and open government organizations write to you to urge the immediate release of President Biden’s congressionally mandated strategy on the war in Ukraine. As the war in Ukraine grinds on, it is becoming increasingly clear that a diplomatic resolution to the conflict is the best way to secure a sovereign and prosperous future for Ukraine. Military aid alone will not achieve this goal. Without a strategy driving U.S. engagement that includes robust diplomatic engagement, clear objectives, and realistic plans, the United States risks unnecessarily lengthening a bloody war at the cost of Ukrainian lives, homes, and livelihoods. As such, we are deeply concerned by the Biden Administration’s failure to release an unclassified version of their Ukraine strategy, as required by law. 

Over two and half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and after more than ten years of Russian occupation of Crimea and fighting in the east – both the suffering and the resilience of the Ukrainian people have been marked. UNHCR data shows that more than six million people have been forced to flee Ukraine since February 24, 2022, while at least ten thousand civilians have been killed.1Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by sexual violence2, horrifically weaponized as a tool of terror and control; civilians living in occupied territory are subject to torture, execution, and the suppression of civil liberties.3Mines and explosive remnants of war have killed hundreds of civilians4, especially men and boys, and will have generational environmental and safety consequences. Other environmental impacts of the war include pollution caused by the bombing of weapons and fuel depots5, and the intentional destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023.6There has also been enormous damage to civilian infrastructure. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine records that, since the beginning of the war, hostilities damaged or destroyed more than one thousand educational facilities and more than four hundred medical facilities.7We are deeply concerned by the human suffering caused by this war. As long as the war is ongoing, Ukrainians will continue to bear these costs, and it will remain impossible to end the suffering or to rebuild.

Section 504 of the FY2024 National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 118-50) enacted in April, required the Biden Administration to prepare a strategy for engagement in Ukraine, which would “be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.” The report was to be submitted to the Foreign Affairs/Foreign Relations, Armed Services, and Appropriations Committees in each chamber, and include “specific and achievable objectives, define and prioritize United States national security interests, and include the metrics to be used to measure progress in achieving such objectives.”8  

While the Biden Administration did submit a report to these committees after the mandated deadline, it was entirely classified.9 Therefore this report has neither fulfilled the congressional mandate nor enabled the public to review or comment on the strategy. Committee chairs in the House have since called for the Administration to release the unclassified version, arguing that, “all of Congress and the American people deserve to understand how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent.”10

We add our collective voices to this call for transparency and accountability through the release of an unclassified strategy, and hope that the strategy submitted includes plans for robust diplomatic engagement. 

We are devastated by the continued loss of life in the region, as minimal progress is made towards a negotiated resolution that would allow for Ukraine to recover, rebuild and look to a free, democratic and prosperous future. We are deeply concerned by the lack of transparency and democratic accountability the United States government has shown in this matter. 

As Congress rightly determined in the FY2024 National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, the Administration’s strategy for Ukraine should be submitted in unclassified form, so that the public can understand their government’s engagement in Ukraine. In a conflict framed by President Biden as a “battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and repression, between a rules-based order and one governed by brute force”11, the United States should be setting the example of democratic accountability, not obscuring information from its citizens. We call on the Biden Administration to expeditiously release the unclassified version of the Ukraine strategy report as required by law. 

Sincerely,

American Friends Service Committee

Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security

Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding Policy

Demand Progress Education Fund

Friends Committee on National Legislation 

Just Foreign Policy

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Pax Christi USA

Peace Action

Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Witness

Project On Government Oversight

Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft

The United Church of Christ


  1. “Ukraine: Report Reveals War’s Long-Term Impact Which Will Be Felt ‘for Generations,’” United Nations, February 22, 2024, https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146842

  2. “Rapid Gender Analysis of Ukraine,” UN Women, 2022, https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Rapid-Gender-Analysis-of-Ukraine-en.pdf

  3. “‘Two Year Update’ Protection of Civilians: Impact of Hostilities on Civilians since 24 February 2022,” OHCHR, 2024, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/two-year-update-protection-
    civilians-impact-hostilities-civilians-24.pdf

  4. Ibid. 

  5. “The Environmental Impact of the Conflict in Ukraine,” United Nations Environment Programme, 2022, https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/40746/environmental_impact_Ukraine_conflict.pdf

  6. James Glanz et al., “Why the Evidence Suggests Russia Blew up the Kakhovka Dam,” The New York Times, June 16, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/16/world/europe/
    ukraine-kakhovka-dam-collapse.html

  7. Ibid 

  8.  “Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes” P.L. 118-50, (2023), https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/815/

  9. Patricia Zengerle, “Biden Administration Sends Congress Long-Awaited Ukraine Strategy Report, Sources Say” Reuters, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-administration
    -sends-congress-long-awaited-ukraine-strategy-report-sources-2024-09-09/

  10. “McCaul, Rogers, Turner, Cole, Calvert, Díaz-Balart Demand Biden-Harris Admin Release Unclassified Ukraine Strategy,” House Committee on Foreign Affairs, September 25, 2024, https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-release/mccaul-rogers-turner-cole-calvert-diaz-balart-demand-biden-harris-admin-release-unclassified-ukraine-strategy/

  11.  “Remarks by President Biden on the United Efforts of the Free World to Support the People of Ukraine,” The White House, March 26, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/26/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-united-efforts-of-the-free-world-to-support-the-people-of-ukraine/