Ayotte Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Statement

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) released the following statement today on Russia's continued aggression in Ukraine:

"This week's actions by Russian-backed separatists to seize control of Debaltseve prove that the ceasefire agreement is meaningless. Given Putin's continued aggression against Ukraine and his consistent willingness to flout prior commitments in Budapest and Minsk and to disregard international law, the administration must act immediately to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine and impose the harshest possible sanctions on the Kremlin.

"The United States-the leader of the free world-should not stand on the sidelines when a free people and their democratically elected government confront an unprovoked invasion of their sovereign territory. Ukraine is not asking others to do the fighting for them. They have demonstrated a willingness to fight bravely for their freedom and their own future, and they are simply asking for the weapons to do so.

"The administration's continued and shameful disregard of Kyiv's pleas for help only invites additional dangerous aggression which could directly threaten the credibility of NATO and further endanger the national security interests of the United States."

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