
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called for "toughest possible sanctions" on Russia on Tuesday after a senior White House national security adviser said Russia's troops were invading two regions of Ukraine.
“Now, the president, roughly at the same time we're meeting here, is addressing the current situation. What I hope he's saying, what I hope he's saying right now, is that from a sanctions point of view, we're gonna impose the toughest possible sanctions,” McConnell said during a Commerce Lexington event in Kentucky on Tuesday.
Putin recognized the so-called Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic, two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, as independent Monday and sent troops into the two territories.
A set of executive orders signed by President Biden on Monday bar U.S. investment, trade, and financing from flowing into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and gives him the authority to impose sanctions on individuals operating there.
McConnell also said the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany should be canceled completely, saying, “Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.”
“Every indication suggests these actions will almost certainly be used as a prelude to even further aggression and an even larger invasion. If that occurs, many Ukrainians could die,” McConnell said. “The humanitarian consequences could be catastrophic. And the threat will not stop with Ukraine. All the free nations of the world will be affected if Putin’s aggression is allowed to stand unchallenged.”
22 Feb 2022
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