WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) released the following statement on further Russian aggression toward Ukraine:
“For months, Putin has been amassing troops at the Ukrainian border and working to stress the Ukrainian economic and political system and on Monday night, he began sending troops into Ukraine. With the cataclysmic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Putin was given a rare opening to push his malign state-building agenda as the U.S. was reeling from the international embarrassment imposed by the Biden administration.
“Russia is without question testing the resolve of the NATO Alliance, explicitly with recognizing Russian backed separatist regions in Donetsk and Luhansk. As the Biden Administration made clear, this was the red line, and if the Kremlin were to cross it, the U.S. promised a ‘swift and decisive’ response.
“The key to deterrence is the adversary knowing that there will be consequences; this administration has not valued the importance of having a strong military to reinforce those consequences. The words of President Reagan still hold true: We maintain the peace through our strength: weakness only invites aggression. The world is watching what we do next.”
