The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website August 14, 2018:
Defense authorization signing statement effectively discards restrictions on recognizing Crimea as Russian
President Donald Trump objects to an effort by Congress to prevent his administration from recognizing Crimea as part of Russia.
Crimea is a region in Ukraine that has been occupied by Russia for several years, with the Russian Federation having claimed to have annexed the region in March 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed the territorial matter is settled, but many in Washington disagree.
Language in the fiscal 2019 defense authorization, which Trump signed into law Monday during a ceremony at Fort Drum in upstate New York, purported to impose a funding blockade on the Pentagon acting on recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.