The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), the largest representation of over 1.5 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, welcomes today’s long-awaited declaration by the United States Department of State, affirming as the United States did in 1940 with the Welles Declaration, the non-recognition of “the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law.” The “Crimea Declaration,” as signed by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, rejects “Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea” and pledges that the United States intends to maintain this policy of refusal to recognize Russia’s illegal assertions “until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.”