The Kremlin's strikes against Ukraine today again place the stakes of Russia's brutal war into stark relief. Russian bombs hit children's playgrounds and public parks in Kyiv; wave after wave of missiles struck Kyiv's city streets and damaged heating and targets without military purpose throughout Ukraine. I extend my deepest sympathies to the people of Ukraine who have lost loved ones today. The United States stands with you.
Russia's attacks are yet another reminder that its war against Ukraine presents a profound moral issue. No person of conscience - and no country of principle - could be unmoved by the devastation of these horrors. Ukraine, like every other country around the world, has the right to choose its own future and live peacefully inside its own internationally recognized borders.
These strikes can break neither Ukraine's spirit nor our resolve to support Ukraine. The United States will continue to provide vital economic, humanitarian, and security assistance so Ukraine can defend itself and take care of its people. The international community has a responsibility to make clear that President Putin's actions are completely unacceptable. Now is the time to speak out in support for Ukraine; it is not the time for abstentions, placating words, or equivocations under claims of neutrality. The core principles of the UN Charter are at stake.
There is one aggressor in this war: Russia. There is only one country escalating this war through its attempted annexations of Ukraine's land and its repeated assaults on civilians: Russia. There is one person who can stop this war now and withdraw Russia's forces: Vladimir Putin.
