Marco Rubio Calls for Aid to Ukraine, Sanctions on Russia

From his perch on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, continues to criticize Russias actions against Ukraine. On Monday, Rubio called for additional sanctions imposed on Russia and giving more support to Ukraine.

The tragic events of recent days show once again that Russia continues to violate Ukraines sovereignty by supporting separatist forces with increasingly sophisticated weapons, and now tanks. We cannot continue to stand idly by in the face of this Russian aggression, Rubio said on Monday. I call on the Obama administration to immediately impose sectoral sanctions on Russia targeting the financial services, energy, defense, metals, and mining sectors, among others, and work with our European allies to do the same. We also need to be more responsive to Ukraines requests for assistance, including lethal support that addresses the needs of their security forces.

More than six weeks ago, I joined my colleagues in introducing S 2277, The Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014, which would impose significant sanctions on the Putin regime and provide support to our European allies and partners, including Ukraine, Rubio added. I urge my colleagues to support this bill or offer their own alternatives as soon as possible so that Russias escalation of the situation in Ukraine does not go unanswered.

President Putin continues to test the United States and he is not paying a price for doing so, Rubio concluded.