WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Biden Administration took necessary steps towards holding Russia accountable for the malicious SolarWinds cyber hack, its illegal occupation of Crimea and other destabilizing activities by issuing sanctions on numerous Russian individuals and entities that enable this behavior.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber, has released the following statement concerning this move by the Biden Administration:

“I recognize the importance of these sanctions in imposing costs on the Putin regime for its malign behavior. In particular, Russia’s malign interference and influence campaigns against our government and private institutions are a direct assault on the democratic values of America that cannot go unanswered.

However, we must be more proactive - mainly we cannot wait for Russia to once again weaponize its energy resources for coercive purposes. As Co-Chair of the Ukraine Caucus, I am deeply concerned that if the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline is completed, irreparable damage will be caused to our allies and partners.

I urge the Biden Administration, therefore, to take the next logical step in defending these allies and partners by fully implementing the bipartisan Nord Stream 2 sanctions as required by law.”

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