Senator John McCain spent his New Year’s Eve with Ukrainian troops in the village of Shyrokine, expressing his anti-Putin position.
“We stand w/them in their fight against #Putin’s aggression,” McCain wrote in one tweet.
Spending #NewYearsEve w/ brave #Ukrainian Marines at a forward combat outpost – we stand w/ them in their fight against #Putin's aggression pic.twitter.com/vkz0gdozVV
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) December 31, 2016
McCain, R-Ariz., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Amy Klobuchar have been visiting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Georgia, all countries bordering Russia whilst also meeting Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
McCain and Graham also emphasized their upmost support for the latest string of sanctions on Russia that has seen 35 diplomats expelled from the U.S.
“The retaliatory measures announced by the Obama Administration today are long overdue,” the two Republican senators said. “But ultimately, they are a small price for Russia to pay for its brazen attack on American democracy. We intend to lead the effort in the new Congress to impose stronger sanctions on Russia.”
Despite heavy pressure, Putin declined to expell any U.S. diplomats which drew praise from incoming President, Donald Trump.
Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016
Graham told RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty in an interview in Kiev on Thursday that Congress would place tougher sanctions on “Putin and his inner circle.”
“We’re going to do two things: We’re going after Putin harder with tougher sanctions and we’re going to be more helpful to our friends, like here in Ukraine,” Graham said in the interview.
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