WASHINGTON, DC – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), issued this statement following Senate passage of the bipartisan Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014.
The legislation authorizes critical defensive, lethal military and non-military assistance for the government of Ukraine, and imposes additional sanctions against Russia's energy and defense sectors.
“The U.S. Senate stands shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the Ukrainian government and its people against the aggression of Vladimir Putin who continues to upend the international order. Meaningful assistance for the Ukrainian people is one step closer now to becoming a reality. This legislation sends a very direct message to President Putin who must change his calculus in Ukraine and abandon this disruptive path. The territorial integrity of Ukraine must be restored and President Putin must understand that his destabilizing actions have serious and profound consequences for his country. The U.S. Senate acted with a unity of purpose today and I urge the U.S. House of Representatives to pass this legislation and send it to the President’s desk for his signature.”
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