- Kinzinger ripped into his GOP colleagues for attacking Joe Biden after the president announced sanctions against Russia.
- House Republicans tweeted about Biden: "This is what weakness on the world stage looks like."
- Kinzinger replied: "You can criticize policy but this is insane and feeds into Putin's narrative."
Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Tuesday blasted his fellow House Republicans for attacking President Joe Biden after the president announced new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
"As still 'technically' a member of house Republicans, let me, with all my might, condemn this damn awful tweet during this crisis," the Illinois Republican wrote in response to the House GOP tweeting against Biden following his announcement.
The president unveiled new "full blocking sanctions" on two large Russian financial institutions — VEB and Russia's military bank. Additional sanctions also target Russia's sovereign debt, and apply to Russian elites and their family members.
Russia will pay an even "steeper price" if it takes further action against Ukraine, Biden said. He cautioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared poised to take more of Ukraine's territory by force, while sternly warning the Russian leader against taking any aggressive steps toward NATO allies in the region.
Minutes later, House Republicans tweeted a photo of Biden at the White House as he walked away from the podium where he'd provided an update on the US response to Russia, with the caption: "This is what weakness on the world stage looks like."
Kinzinger ripped into his colleagues' comments, claiming they prop up Putin.
"You can criticize policy but this is insane and feeds into Putins narrative. But hey, retweets amirite?" he wrote.
—Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) February 22, 2022
Kinzinger has been attacked and undermined by his GOP colleagues for his criticism of former President Donald Trump. He and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, also an outspoken Trump critic, were recently censured by the Republican National Committee for serving on the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.
Kinzinger continued to press his colleagues later on Tuesday evening after Trump spoke highly of Putin's justification for invading Ukraine, calling his actions "savvy" and "genius."
"Maybe @GOPLeader should give his take on the former guys pro Putin comments?" Kinzinger tweeted, tagging House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
As president, Trump routinely praised Putin, despite the Russian leader's authoritarian behavior and poor US-Russia relations. Historians and experts on autocrats have said that Trump's behavior emboldened Putin — as well as other leaders like him.
On Tuesday, Biden said Russia's actions against Ukraine this week marked the "beginning of an invasion." Putin recognized Donetsk and Luhansk — two breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine — as independent. Russia also announced it's sending so-called "peacekeepers" into eastern Ukraine. This came after Putin delivered an incendiary speech rewriting Ukraine's history and effectively suggesting it's not a real country.
Putin's recent rhetoric and moves toward Ukraine have prompted a wave of global condemnation and sanctions. The UK and European Union, in coordination with the US, also slapped new economic penalties on Russia over the Ukraine invasion. Germany also halted the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline — a move that many in Washington and Kyiv had been pushing for.
Russia in 2014 invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, and since that year has supported rebels in a war against Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region that's killed over 13,000 people and displaced 1.5 million.
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