On the recordApril 6, 2022
Let me thank the leadership of our chairman and the working relationship with the ranking member. Mr. Speaker, I was in Lithuania as the Russians were coming in, and I spent a couple of days there with the hopes and dreams of many people that, in actuality, there would not be an invasion of Russia into Ukraine, even though we were being briefed on the 30,000 to 40,000 troops in Belarus. Even on that day, we spoke to Ukraine parliamentarians, who indicated that they were leaving the meeting we were in and taking a 17-hour trip back to Ukraine as their son was standing up to join the Ukrainian military. Little did we expect--as some people said, ``just a couple of days''--that we would be at a point where--we will not call it World War III, but we will call it the most brutal, vicious, and murderous effort in Europe and the world almost since World War II. I cannot fathom the bodies found in a pit. I cannot understand moms and babies dying in the street. I cannot understand or accept the numbers of civilians targeted, their bodies strewn throughout the various cities. The movement to the east, the destruction of Odessa, and the unwillingness of Vladimir Putin to even think of being serious at the peace table--it is important to say pronounced war crimes have been committed, that he must be at The Hague. I believe Europe should be more pronounced in its annunciation. I frankly believe that there is a heavier penalty that he must pay.…
