The House passed a resolution on Wednesday to declare support for Ukraine’s sovereignty in the face of the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin while urging an “immediate cease-fire.”
(AP).- Lawmakers in both parties voted near-unanimously in favor of the resolution, 426-3. The only votes in opposition were from three Republicans: Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.).
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said it was “unreal” that three fellow Republicans voted against the resolution.
“Talk to me when our border is secure,” Gosar retorted on Twitter.
Massie said he opposed the resolution because he thought it was overly broad in its stated support for providing defense assistance to Ukraine, among other things. He also argued that the call for isolating Russia economically could ultimately backfire if “innocent people in Russia” suffer under harsh sanctions and develop resentments against America.
“I fully support the right of the people of Ukraine to self-determination. However there are many reasons I could not vote for the seven-page Resolution that passed the House of Representatives today,” Massie wrote in a series of tweets.
The resolution, which is nonbinding, states that the House “stands steadfastly, staunchly, proudly, and fervently behind the Ukrainian people in their fight against the authoritarian Putin regime.”
It also calls for the U.S. and its allies “to deliver additional and immediate defensive security assistance to help Ukraine address the armored, airborne, and other threats Ukraine is currently facing from Russian forces.”
The resolution further asserts that American lawmakers “will never recognize or support any illegitimate Russian-controlled leader or government installed through the use of force.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the author of the resolution, said the vote offered lawmakers an opportunity to formally register support for Ukraine after Russian troops began their assault on the nation last week.
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