RI Leaders Speak Out Against Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island leaders are speaking out in favor of Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion early Thursday morning.

Rhode Island's state and national leaders voiced their solidarity with Ukraine. Gov Dan McKee said the state is "praying for [the Ukrainian] people during this time of Russian aggression and unprovoked attacks."

"[President Joe Biden] and leaders across the globe have taken action against Russia," McKee tweeted. "We must all stand together in this effort — these attacks cannot be tolerated."

Related: Conflict In Ukraine: Clark Russian Politics Expert Explains

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse called Putin a dictator, saying the invasion was an "unprovoked, bloody assault on a peaceful nation" that also attacked the international peace structures created after World War II.

"It is also an attack on democracy itself, and autocrats around the world are watching," Whitehouse said. "Putin and his cronies must pay dearly. The time for condemning is over; what matters now is action. America and our allies have to use every economic tool available to isolate this rogue regime and defend Ukrainian democracy. The blood money and stolen assets of Putin’s oligarchs, hidden away in foreign holdings, must be seized, and the oligarchs shut out of Western society. There is strong bipartisan backing for sending additional aid to Ukraine and to our NATO allies in the region. As Ukrainians take up arms to defend their homeland, we must ensure they have the support they need."

Sen. Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Russia's actions "illegal and immoral."

"His military is likely to achieve rapid dominance at the outset, but the Ukrainian people are not easily defeated. We are witnessing the start of a long, bloody, ugly conflict that Putin cannot win."

Congressman David Cicilline said that Putin "cannot act without consequence."

"The United States and the international community must build on the already enacted sanctions so that the cost of this incursion is far greater than anything Russia has faced before," Cicilline continued. "Ukrainian sovereignty must be respected, and the Ukrainian people have a right to decide their own political future — they’ve chosen democracy. To protect this burgeoning democracy, and the Ukrainian people, we must do all we can to help them defend their freedoms and their borders."

Congressman Jim Langevin called for a swift response to the attacks "by a thug dead set on upending a sovereign democracy and reconstituting the borders of the USSR."

"Putin must be stopped, and he must pay for his crimes committed against the innocent Ukrainian people," Langevin tweeted. "Now, the U.S. and the international community must respond with a sanctions regime unlike any we’ve ever imposed before."