Political Quotes

“Madam President, I come to the floor to direct Members' attention to a very important article on the front page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2025, by Thomas Grove. The headline states ``Be Cruel,'' how Russia tortured Ukrainians. This is a most disturbing bit of news, and it demonstrates who we are dealing with in hoping somehow that there will be a negotiated settlement of Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of a smaller neighbor that he thought was weaker, in violation of every international law dealing with this. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have the article by Mr. Grove printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [Feb. 10, 2025] Exclusive--`Be Cruel': Inside Russia's Torture System for Ukranian POWs (By Thomas Grove) In the weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, the head of St. Petersburg's prisons delivered a direct message to an elite unit of guards tasked with overseeing the influx of prisoners from the war: ``Be cruel, don't pity them.'' Maj. Gen. Igor Potapenko had gathered his service's special forces at the regional headquarters to tell them about a new system that had been designed for captured Ukrainians. Normal rules wouldn't apply, he told them. There would be no restrictions against violence. The body cameras that were mandatory elsewhere in Russia's prison system would be gone.…”