Washington, DC: Following reports from the Kiev military that a "column of 32 tanks and truckloads of Russian troops” have moved into Ukraine, Congressman Mike Turner, Chairman of the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, released the following statement:
“If these reports are accurate, the significant number of troops and artillery that have moved across the Ukrainian border in the last twenty-four hours prove the Russian Federation has no intention of deescalating the current crisis in Ukraine.
Putin continues to send troops, tanks, and weapons across the sovereign Ukrainian border. In response, the President has sent an international message of ambivalence.
In order to take decisive action to counter Putin’s ongoing escalation of this already serious conflict, President Obama must first definitively call these movements what they are: a continued invasion."
Following NATO reports on August 28th that Russian troops were operating inside Ukraine, Congressman Turner released a joint statement with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) calling on the President to "definitively state whether or not Russia has invaded Ukraine and immediately condemn this overt escalation of an already serious conflict.” In response, the Obama administration failed to define that movement of over 1,000 Russian troops into Ukraine as an invasion.
"President Obama continues to ignore the obvious. Ukraine has been and continues to be invaded by Russian troops. To counter this aggression, the President of the United States must at least be willing to acknowledge that Russia’s actions are an invasion and a violation of Ukraine’s sovereign territory.
Today, the President must provide strong U.S. leadership and condemn Russia’s acts as an invasion of Ukraine,” said Congressman Turner.