U.S. Senator John McCain (Republican of Arizona), who is one of the better informed members of Congress about Ukraine's political crisis, today released the following statement on Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine:
“I am deeply concerned that Russia’s ongoing military intervention in Crimea may soon expand to eastern Ukraine.
Yesterday, President Barack Obama said that Russia would face ‘costs’ if it intervened militarily in Ukraine.
“It is now essential for the president to articulate exactly what those costs will be and to take steps urgently to impose them.
“Russia’s use of force in Ukraine is unfolding in clear violation of Russia’s own commitments to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
“None of us should be under any illusion about what Russia President Vladimir Putin is capable of doing in Ukraine, especially now that he has requested, and the Russian Duma has approved, the deployment of Russian troops, not just in Crimea but in the country of Ukraine.
Every moment that the United States and our allies fail to respond sends the signal to President Putin that he can be even more ambitious and aggressive in his military intervention in Ukraine.
“There is a range of serious options at our disposal at this time without the use of military force. I call on President Obama to rally our European and NATO allies to make clear what costs Russia will face for its aggression and to impose those consequences without further delay.”
