Ed Royce: “Last month's Russian attack on Ukrainian vessels attempting to pass through the Kerch Strait is a dramatic reminder of…”

“Last month's Russian attack on Ukrainian vessels attempting to pass through the Kerch Strait is a dramatic reminder of Vladimir Putin's continued aggression. This was not an isolated incident. Russia has opened a new front in the Sea of Azov, where it is attempting to choke off Ukrainian imports and exports and greatly undermine Ukraine's economy. This is a dangerous escalation. In the past, Moscow has attempted to disguise its armed intervention in Ukraine by claiming that its troops and weapons in the eastern regions belong to the separatist entities there. Now let me share with you, Mr. Speaker, the reality that, in the east, there is Russian armor. Eliot Engel and I traveled to Dnipropetrovsk in the east, in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine, with a delegation of four Republicans and four Democrats. We traveled in order to talk to those who were trying to deal with the fact that Russian military was rolling over provinces in Ukraine. But now Russia is openly using its own military against Ukraine in the territory of Crimea that it has illegally occupied and annexed. They are using the fleet. The United States and its allies and partners must hold Russia accountable. Failure to do so may be interpreted by Moscow as a green light to go even further, a miscalculation that could result in a dangerous military escalation. This resolution sends two messages.…”