U.S. Lawmakers from both parties Call for More Sanctions in response to Russia’s military action in Ukraine

Washington, TGO: Lawmakers from both parties quickly called for increasing sanctions and boosting NATO defenses in response to Russia’s military action in Ukraine.

“Putin’s decision to invade is an evil, panicked move of weakness and will be his defining mistake,” tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The Ukrainian people will fight for as long as it takes to secure their nation from this foreign tyrant, and the United States will stand with them in this fight.”

“Tonight, the entire Post World War international order sits on a knife edge,” Mr. Murphy said. “If Putin does not pay a devastating price for this transgression, then our own security will soon be at risk.” He called for crippling sanctions on Russia and for America and its allies to cut off Mr. Putin and his friends from the global economy. “A strong, swift response is vital,” he said.

Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Mr. Putin had brought decades of general peace to an end with his illegal invasion. Mr. Warner said it was time to ramp up “the pain level” of sanctions and bolster NATO allies’ defenses.

“While there is still an opportunity for Russia to reverse course, we can no longer hold out hope that this standoff will be resolved peacefully,” Mr. Warner said. “Therefore, we must all, on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Atlantic, work together to demonstrate to Putin that this aggression will not be allowed to go unpunished.”

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said sanctions were needed months ago to ward off an invasion, but now, “we must implement strong, primary and secondary sanctions immediately.”

“Every option must be placed on the table to stop Putin’s malevolence that not only threatens Ukraine and Eastern Europe, but the security of all liberal democracies around the globe,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D., N.H.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement.

Ms. Shaheen urged the Biden administration to respond swiftly with America’s allies to impose “crushing economic sanctions on Kremlin officials, Russian entities and other actors involved in this attack on Ukraine.”

Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he is “ready to exact the most punishing economic costs on Moscow and its leadership that have ever been brought to bear, in concert with our allies.”

Top Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees issued a joint statement shortly before midnight local time expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people and “resolve to provide them with the tools they need to withstand and repel this unprovoked attack.”

Michael McCaul (R., Tex), Mike Rogers (R., Ala.), and Mike Turner (R., Ohio) said they are “committed to enacting the strongest possible sanctions and export controls to cripple Russia’s ability to make war, punish its barbarity and relegate the Putin regime to the status of an international pariah.”

“The world must never forget or forgive this heinous act,” they said.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) said in a statement that Russia’s “unprovoked attack has brought into sharp focus the need to expel the current Kremlin leadership from the international community.”

He said he is committed to exacting “maximum costs on Putin” and the Russian economy, and added: “Today must mark a historical shift in how the world views and deals with the despot in Moscow.”