As Russia invades Ukraine, Connecticut congressional and Ukrainian community leaders condemn attack

Connecticut’s congressional and Ukrainian-American community leaders condemned Russia’s wide-ranging attack on Ukraine Thursday and said the U.S. and its European allies will respond with the full force of crippling sanctions.

Russian forces hit cities and military bases as fleeing civilians piled into trains and cars. NATO’s chief said the “brutal act of war” shattered peace on the European continent, as the U.S.-led alliance mobilized more troops to move toward eastern Europe.

“A full-scale war in Europe has begun,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. “Russia is not only attacking Ukraine, but the rules of normal life in the modern world.”

“By invading Ukraine,” U.S. Rep. Jim Himes said, “Vladimir Putin has chosen to violate international law and ignore the warnings of the United States, NATO and the community of free nations. This decision will bring terrible consequences for him and his supporters in the form of sanctions and other crippling measures. He should immediately withdraw all troops or risk an escalation in consequences that will not end well for him or his regime.”

Maria (Kukil) Brandriff of Hamden, who was born to Ukrainian parents in a displaced persons camp in Germany after World War II, said, “I’m scared and I’m heartbroken.”

Brandriff said she has family, mostly cousins, in the nation’s western section.

“At the moment, they’re safe, but who knows how far this will go,” the retired Cheshire assistant librarian said. “I’m scared for the whole world. I think this is very destabilizing... Putin is a madman just like Hitler was.”

“I must say one of the most damaging things occurring is (former President) Trump mouthing off about how strong and wonderful and ‘genius’ Putin is,” Brandriff said. “That’s total BS. He’s too stupid to understand the ramifications of what he’s saying.”

Trump on Tuesday praised Putin’s aggression as “genius” and called the Russian leader “very savvy” for describing the troops aligned on the Ukrainian border as peacekeepers, the New York Times reported.

Connecticut’s congressional leaders, however, universally condemned the Russian president’s aggression.

“My thoughts are with the people of Ukraine as Putin launches this premeditated, unprovoked attack,” U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal tweeted. “The USA stands with the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom from Russian tyranny.”

A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Blumenthal traveled to Ukraine in January along with a bipartisan group of senators to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other national leaders to reiterate U.S. support for the people of Ukraine.

“The United States cannot look away,” he said later while speaking outside the State Capitol.

He called people he had met in Ukraine “brave” and “resolute” and said what Russia has done is an “assault on the world order we haven’t seen since World War II.”

“Costs & consequences must be swift, severe, & strong, meeting Putin’s attack on the post-WWII world order,” Blumenthal tweeted Thursday. “It is far past time to fully sanction Russia, Putin, & his oligarchs.”

“Hopefully, the American people and the global community will now recognize that Vladimir Putin is not a normal world leader,” Alexander Kuzma, a Ukrainian American resident of Wethersfield who organized the “Stand With Ukraine” rally and prayer vigil at the Capitol building in Hartford on Sunday, said Thursday.

“He is a war criminal and a psychotic killer who has — without provocation — launched an incredibly dangerous war on a country that divested itself of all nuclear weapons and bent over backwards to keep the peace with all its neighbors,” Kuzma said.

“Putin, for all his ornate czarist trappings and his ridiculous attempts at imperial grandeur is no different than a cold-blooded killer — the Charles Manson of the New Russia,” he said. “Except that Manson murdered only a handful of innocent people. Since 2014, Putin is already responsible for the death of thousands.”

“America stands with Ukraine and its people,” U.S Rep. John B. Larson said. “The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is unwarranted and dangerous. NATO, the US, the EU, and our allies and partners are united in confronting Russian aggression, and together, we have imposed severe sanctions on Russia. These sanctions, along with innovative export control measures, send a strong message that we will not tolerate this kind of behavior.

“The United States has engaged in unprecedented diplomatic efforts to deter Russia from military action and offered a diplomatic path forward,” Larson said. “Instead, they have chosen to invade their neighbor because they dared to exercise their sovereign right of self-determination. There will be a profound human cost to their actions, both to troops on both sides of this conflict and to the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. This is a humanitarian and refugee crisis.”

Larson later added his support for the announcement by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., that the committee would explore options to further confront the invasion.

“I applaud Chairman Neal for his announcement and stand ready to work with the entire Ways and Means Committee to ensure we use every tool in our jurisdiction to confront Russia’s launch of unprovoked war.,” Larson said. “As the Biden Administration imposes sweeping sanctions in response, we will work as a committee to deliver further financial consequences for Russia’s heinous disregard for human life in Ukraine. We will continue to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy tweeted: “Putin’s decision to invade is an evil, panicked move of weakness and will be his defining mistake.”

“The Ukrainian people will fight for as long as it takes to secure their nation from this foreign tyrant, and the United States will stand with them in this fight,” Murphy said in the tweet.

“Vladimir Putin and his ruling clique will pay a bitter price for his unjustified attack on the sovereign state of Ukraine and its people,” said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.

“Ukraine defense forces are better equipped, better trained and more determined than in 2014, when Putin forcibly seized Crimea,” Courtney said. “In addition, the U.S., NATO, EU, and G7 countries are united to punish this invasion with increasing sanctions, effectively isolating Russia’s economy and society. Every democracy has a stake in protecting the international rule of law and supporting the brave people of Ukraine.”

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, said Putin’s “greed, growing aggression, and unyielding pursuit of power have brought us to this point, which will lead to grievous loss of life and humanitarian devastation.

“President Putin and his cronies must pay the full price for their actions, which are not just an attack on Ukrainian sovereignty but on global democracy,” DeLauro, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said.

“We must move further beyond the initial tranche of sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration to respond to Russian aggression,” she said. “In conjunction with our allies, we must terminate Russia’s participation in the global economy and fully cut off Russia’s leading financial institutions.”

Gov. Ned Lamont said he found the “unjustified, unprovoked” invasion of Ukraine “abhorrent.

“The people of Connecticut stand in solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine and pray for their safety as they endure this assault on their freedom,” Lamont said. “I commend President Biden for leading the free world in sanctioning and punishing Russia for their aggression against a sovereign, democratic, and peaceful nation.”

Other groups also offered support for the state’s Ukrainian residents.

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities said in a statement: “We are saddened by this unwarranted aggression by Russia. At CCM, our thoughts and support go to the Ukrainians who have made Connecticut their home, as well as those in Ukraine who will see many difficult days ahead.”