What Hoosiers are saying about the crisis in Ukraine
Sen. Todd Young: We "must awaken" to the "challenges" of a "great power conflict and multipolar world."
In this edition, scroll down to read what Hoosier elected officials are saying about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is today, and details of Vice President Kamala Harris swearing in the newest ambassador to the Vatican Joe Donnelly.
As the post-Cold-War world order and Pax Americana skidded to a halt with Russia’s pre-dawn invasion of Ukraine, Hoosier politicos sounded off on the matter with varying degrees of condemnation.
In perhaps the strongest and most comprehensive statement from the Indiana delegation, Sen. Todd Young, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, declared all but the end of the “rules-based order that has benefited countless Americans and millions around the globe since World War II.”
“Leaders of the free world must awaken to the challenges that come with the return of great power conflict and a multipolar world,” Young said. “With Russia and China content to chart their own paths, despite the costs, we must examine what credible deterrence means—both for Putin in Moscow and Xi in Beijing. The goal should not be preparing for the next response, but to deter attacks in the first place.”
As Russian forces spread out across the county late Wednesday evening, Young’s Democratic opponent, Tom McDermott, saw a campaign opportunity, deriding him for his relationship with Trump.
“When I’m Indiana’s US Senator, I promise never to shake the hand of a US President who adores dictators,” McDermott tweeted. “Russian President Vladimir Putin has invaded a free country & started a war. When will Indiana Senator Todd Young finally denounce Trump’s praise for the man who started this war?”
Young’s campaign declined to respond to McDermott—a trend that will likely continue until the pair debate later this year.
In a rare high-profile Sean Hannity sitdown that appeared aimed at burnishing his foreign policy bonafides, former Vice President Mike Pence contrasted with Donald Trump, who praised Putin’s move as “genius.”
“We must continue to arm Ukraine, sanction every financial institution in Russia until the Russian military fully withdraws from Ukraine, and move resources through NATO to our NATO allies in the region,” Pence told Hannity.
Here’s what else members of the delegation had to say Thursday about Ukraine:
Sen. Mike Braun:
“Though I hoped the administration would proactively shut down Russian energy assets such as Nord Stream 2 to deter further aggression as a majority of Senators voted to do, Putin and his cronies must now be punished with severe economic consequences for their unjustified invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. must unleash independent American energy production to lessen the pain of rising fuel prices on Americans, and the U.S. must be watchful to avoid endangering U.S. troops by involving them further in this volatile situation.”
Rep. Victoria Spartz—the first Ukrainian member of Congress, whose father died of cancer incurred from the incident at Chernobyl, which the Russians seized today:
Rep. Jim Banks:
Rep. Jackie Walorski:
Rep. Greg Pence:
Rep. Andre Carson:
Rep. Trey Hollingsworth:
"Vladimir Putin’s unwarranted attacks on Ukraine are an aggressive escalation that impend catastrophic effects on independence and freedom in the region as well as jeopardize global security. Our country must stand united with our global allies and prevent further terrorization of a fellow democratic nation and growing threats to our way of life."
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