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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today issued the following statement urging the Obama administration to immediately increase sanctions on Russia for its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty:

“Russia’s efforts to foment unrest in eastern Ukraine are tantamount to another violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty. Assertions from Moscow that Russia is not involved hold little credibility, particularly in the wake of its unlawful annexation of Crimea.

“The Obama administration must immediately increase sanctions on Russia. Sector-based sanctions should begin to be imposed and President Putin’s own financial assets, and those of his associates, targeted. By delaying the most significant penalties, the United States and our allies have unfortunately sent the message to Russia that there will be little cost to pay for this type of behavior. We should also stand with Ukraine as the interim government attempts to deal with these provocations. This includes immediately providing the lethal assistance they requested weeks ago. We also need to take measures to reassure our allies in Central and Eastern Europe by deploying more alliance assets to their territories to reinforce our NATO commitments to their security.

“Armed takeovers of foreign territory by masked men are the crude tactics of bygone regional powers, not the actions of 21st century nations. Until Russia is convinced of a real cost of its current course of action, I fear that Ukraine’s stability will continue to be undermined. I urge the President to act without delay.”