House Armed Services Committee Lead Republican Mike Rogers (R-AL) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) have released the following statement condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognition of the Russian-backed separatist republics in the Donbas region of Ukraine as independent as well as his order to deploy Russian troops there.
"As we've said for months, setting the trigger for meaningful sanctions to Russian tanks rolling across Ukraine's border was a dangerous mistake. Secretary Blinken committed to a ‘swift and firm response' by the United States and its allies if Putin recognized Russian-backed separatist republics in Donbas. Now that the Kremlin has done so, we must immediately impose real costs for this blatant act of aggression and flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Unfortunately, the sanctions previewed by the White House thus far are the definition of impotence.
"With reports that Putin is now sending troops into the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk under the guise of ‘peacekeepers,' now is not the time for symbolic pinpricks that will serve only to embolden Putin and endanger our friends in Ukraine. Now is the time for President Biden to impose sanctions that strike at the heart of the Russian economy, and permanently end Nord Stream 2 once and for all, as he promised the world he would do."
