Congressman Fred Upton says it’s been sobering to watch what’s happening in Ukraine the past several days. He tells WSJM News the sanctions implemented by western nations on Russia have been welcome. He wants the pressure to continue.
“This is why I called for immediate sanctions, harsh, long lasting,” Upton said. “I’d like to think that there’s more we can do to ratchet things up. I know that there are a good number of both Republicans – certainly Republicans, but Democrats too – that want to stop the import of Russian energy.”
Upton is on the House Ukraine Caucus, which met Monday with the Ukrainian ambassador and had a briefing with the Secretary of Defense. He says the U.S. needs to support Ukraine.
“They’re holding out longer than a lot of people thought they might be able to, but we’ve got to make sure that we do what we can to rearm them, particularly with Javelins [ missiles ], something that I sought directly with the White House the last number of years, particularly after one of my trips to Ukraine.”
Upton said he was hoping President Biden would announce new steps during his State of the Union. He says Russia needs to be shown it can’t continue this slaughter. He called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the man of the hour.
Pictured: Upton with the House Ukraine Caucus.
