 "Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi")
Russia will gain no security from its needless war in Ukraine as democracies across the world stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of despotic militarism, Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said on Thursday.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen to begin his unjustified, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion" of Ukraine.
Krishnamoorthi, who is the first-ever and the only Indian-American on the powerful House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said in the face of Russia's senseless and avoidable war, the United States must continue to stand with the people of Ukraine as they defend their homeland, their freedom, and their right of self-government from Putin's iron yoke.
We must join with democracies across the world to dramatically expand sanctions on Russia to hold its leaders accountable for the needless destruction and suffering they will cause, while also coordinating with our NATO allies to stand firm in the face of any attack on our alliance, said the Democratic lawmaker.
While none of us can say for certain what will come next, Russia will gain no security from this needless war as democracies across the world once again stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of despotic militarism, he said.
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I join countless millions across the world in keeping the people of Ukraine in my prayers as Vladimir Putin has chosen to begin his unjustified, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion of Ukraine, he said.
Despite the efforts of Ukraine, the United States, and our European allies to prevent bloodshed through diplomacy, millions of lives now lie in the balance because of Russian military aggression, Krishnamoorthi said.
In a televised address on Thursday, Russian President Putin said his move to launch a military operation in Ukraine came in response to threats emanating from the neighbouring country.
He also warned other countries that if they attempted to interfere with the Russian military operation they would see "consequences they have never seen".
Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna in a tweet said that the United States stands with Ukraine.
We will hold Putin accountable for his unconscionable, unjustified, and illegal attack on the innocent people of Ukraine. He is committing a crime against humanity and flagrantly violating international law, he said.
Khanna has just returned from the Munich Security Conference as part of a Congressional delegation.
Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is an assault on global peace and security, international law, and the values we cherish as Americans, tweeted Indian American Congressman Dr. Ami Bera.
The US and our allies stand united with the Ukrainian people. We must act decisively to ensure Putin faces severe consequences, he said in a tweet.
There was no immediate reaction from Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. The current Congress has four Indian American lawmakers: Bera, Krishnamoorthi, Khanna and Jayapal.
President Putin announced in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the head of the Donbas republic, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.
Putin has said that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
Russia's Defence Ministry reported that Russian troops were destroying Ukrainian military infrastructure using precision weapons. The US has already announced a series of sanctions on Russia to prevent it from accessing Western financial markets.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
