; Whereas, on March 18, 2014, following a fraudulent public referendum that was boycotted by most Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians and conducted under the shadow of Russian military forces, President Putin signed a treaty annexing Ukraine’s Crimea region, which was immediately met with condemnation by the United States and the international community; Whereas, on July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down near the village of Grabove over rebel-held territory, killing the nearly 300 people onboard, an attack for which the Dutch Safety Board concluded that the Russian-backed separatists were responsible; Whereas the Government of Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels agreed to a now-failed cease-fire ( Minsk I ) on September 5, 2014, which called for the withdrawal of illegal armed groups as well as militants and mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine ; Whereas a Memorandum was signed by parties to Minsk I on September 19, 2014, outlining their understanding of and obligations to the agreement; Whereas the fragile cease-fire established by the Minsk I agreement deteriorated following heavy fighting in the Donetsk region, which included operations by Russian-led separatists and regular Russian forces; Whereas the Minsk II Agreement signed on February 12, 2015, by the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Germany, and France, included the withdrawal of all foreign armed groups, weapons, and mercenaries; Whereas, on February 25, 2015, General Philip Breedlove, NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said that the state of affairs in Ukraine is getting worse every day and the Russian Federation has no intention of retreating from Ukraine until its objectives are accomplished ; Whereas Russian-backed separatists continue to shell parts of Ukraine and separatists have executed Ukrainian servicemembers, both in direct violation of the negotiated cease-fire