The leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sunday called Russia’s actions in Ukraine an “invasion” and called for the US and its allies to check President Vladimir Putin.
“This is a watershed moment,” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” speaking from Keiv, Ukraine. ” …Thousands of Russian troops are here with tanks, missiles, heavy artillery and are directly engaged in what is clearly an invasion.”
Menendez called for tougher sanctions on Russia in the financial services, energy and defense sectors. He also called for arming Ukrainian soldiers.
“We also should be providing the Ukrainians with the type of defensive weapons that will impose a cost on Putin for further aggression,” Menendez said.
Fighting broke out in April in Ukraine, a month after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula following the ousting of Keiv’s pro-Russian president.
The conflict has cost the lives of 2,600 people, plus the nearly 300 deaths when a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down.
In an interview published Sunday on Russian media, Putin called for discussion of “statehood” for eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, the European Union issued a one-week ultimatum to Russia to stop its aggression in Ukraine or face more economic sanctions.
But Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) doubts whether more sanctions would work because Putin is so popular and Russians seem willing to brave the economic consequences for him.
“I’m not sure they will work,” Feinstein said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in urging direct talks with Putin. “I’m not sure if that shakes the people that much.”
US Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) echoed Menendez saying Russia’s actions are tantamount to an invasion. He called for the US to offer Ukraine intelligence, training and arms support.
“It’s hard to argue that Russian troops with Russian armor crossing the border to the Ukraine doesn’t fit the definition of an invasion,” Rogers said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I don’t think they are there on a sightseeing tour.”