Ruppersberger Issues Statement on New Sanctions Against Russia

Press Release

Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Defense Appropriator whose district is home to the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, today issued the following statement on President Joe Biden's announcement that he will implement new sanctions against Russia for interfering with American elections and cyber hacking, including the SolarWinds attack against the U.S. government:

"Today, President Biden has sent a clear message that the days of tolerating Russian aggression and deference to Putin are over. Finally, we are standing up for our country and our democracy.

The evidence is clear that Russia and Vladimir Putin sought to undermine our elections. They are illegally occupying a sovereign nation. They attempted to murder a political dissenter. It is believed that they encouraged terrorists to attack our troops in Afghanistan. And they continue to use dangerous cyber weapons against both the American government and our economy, including an attack that impacted as many as 20,000 public and private customers and that will cost upwards of $100 billion to repair. Just today, we learned that Russian hackers are at it again, actively targeting U.S. companies and the defense industrial base. They must be held accountable.

I support the President's stated goal of building a more stable and less combative relationship with Russia that furthers American interests and that of our allies, once the price is paid for these atrocities."

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