Dick Durbin: “I rise to address the horrific series of events which have occurred in Eastern Ukraine within the last week. The…”

“I rise to address the horrific series of events which have occurred in Eastern Ukraine within the last week. The shooting down of a civilian Malaysian airliner and the killing of 298 innocent people is an unspeakable tragedy and one that, frankly, speaks out for us to address in terms of the responsibility. In this situation in Eastern Ukraine there are armed thugs who are in control of the territory where this plane was shot down. They have been armed, financed, and inspired by Vladimir Putin and the Russians. That is the grim reality. All signs point to the fact that Putin, the Russians, and their supporters in Eastern Ukraine are responsible for this terrible tragedy--the loss of 298 lives. I was in Ukraine a few weeks ago with Senator McCain and others, and it was at a time when Crimea was about to fall. It was clear then the Ukrainians did not have the capacity to stop this effort by Putin to take over territory--and he did. Then that wasn't enough. He had to reach into Eastern Ukraine for even more territory, stirring up problems, creating havoc, and, sadly, bloodshed in the process. It is bad enough the Ukrainian citizens themselves were victims, but now 298 innocent people on a civilian airliner were shot down over this territory. As I have said, the evidence points directly to Moscow and its complicity in this horrible event.…”