Kaine Statement on Sanctions against Russia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), released the following statement supporting President Biden’s announcement of new sanctions against Russia after President Putin ordered troops to Russian-backed breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine and violated Ukraine’s sovereignty by formally recognizing those regions as independent:

“I commend President Biden for taking action to punish Putin’s blatant violation of international law and affront to Ukraine’s sovereignty. This is a crisis of Putin’s own making, and he must reverse course immediately by withdrawing troops back to Russian territory and refraining from further aggression.

“But if Russia continues to take steps to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty, the U.S. must work in lock-step with our international partners to impose additional crippling sanctions. We will not stand for Russian aggression.”

In January, Senator Kaine helped introduce the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022, critical legislation to impose devastating sanctions on the Russian banking sector and senior military and government officials if President Putin escalates hostile action in or against Ukraine.

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