Toomey slaps Obama’s Ukraine reaction as ‘tepid’
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania says Russian President Vladimir Putin has read President Barack Obama and determined that he could invade Ukraine with impunity.
Toomey, a Republican, also said Tuesday that Obama’s response has been “a little tepid.”
He echoed Pennsylvania’s other U.S. senator, Democrat Bob Casey, in signaling support for freezing assets of key Russian officials and imposing economic sanctions against Russia.
Toomey says Russian leaders are “bad actors” and their behavior toward Ukraine should not be tolerated. He also says it’s an embarrassment for Obama.
Russia took over Ukraine’s strategic Crimean peninsula on Saturday, placing its troops around the region’s military bases and border posts. Tensions remained high Tuesday between troops there and warships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol.