WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Chairman Bill Keating (D-MA) of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber are introducing legislation to impose sanctions on Russian parliamentarians who voted in favor of the Kremlin’s recognition of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.
The Russian parliament recently passed legislation that called on Vladimir Putin to recognize the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. Putin then made a public announcement that he would recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk republics. In response, this bipartisan legislation will authorize the President of the United States to impose sanctions on any member of the parliament of the Russian Federation who voted in favor of the Kremlin’s recognition of legislation calling for the recognition of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as one or more independent states. The European Union yesterday announced similar sanctions that went into effect today.
“The Kremlin’s recognition of the independence of separatist breakaway regions in Eastern Ukraine and subsequent deployment of troops to sovereign Ukrainian territory is an act of war that directly violates the Minsk Protocol and removes all doubt that Russia seeks a diplomatic path forward,” said Ranking Member Fitzpatrick. “We need to impose immediate, crippling sanctions that strike at the heart of Putin’s corrupt regime and send a clear message about the consequences Russia will suffer for invading Ukraine’s sovereign territory. The world is watching, and the time to act is now.”
“This legislation makes clear that any Russian officials who supports Vladimir Putin’s efforts to escalate Russia’s illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory will not be tolerated by the United States,” said Chairman Keating. “Russian officials and oligarchs will face significant financial repercussions for supporting this renewed invasion of Ukraine because we understand the only way to deter Russian aggression is to target and sanction those policymakers and kleptocrats who willingly indulge Putin’s imperial fantasies. Senior Russian leaders underestimate the unity, resiliency, and resources of the transatlantic coalition, but we are firmly aligned in our resolve to stand with the people of Ukraine and their desire for a free, independent, and democratic future.”
Ranking Member Fitzpatrick and Chairman Keating will be joined on this legislation by original co-sponsors Representatives Juan Vargas (D-CA); Claudia Tenney (R-NY); Jim Costa (D-CA); Ted Lieu (D-CA); Dina Titus (D-NV); David Cicilline (D-RI); Nicole Malliokatis (R-NY); Ted Deutch (D-FL); Gerry Connolly (D-VA); Brad Sherman (D-CA); Peter Meijer (R-MI); Ann Wagner (R-MO); and Joe Wilson (R-SC).
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