Video, Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Addresses Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

Statement

Earlier this morning, Governor Kathy Hochul addressed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Governor's remarks follow her announcement regarding the formation of the Joint Security Operations Center to oversee cybersecurity across the State.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks are available below:

I first want to acknowledge the invasion of Ukraine last night. Very frightening images. Our hearts go out to all the residents of that country that is now under siege. We have, in New York State, one of the largest Ukrainian populations outside the country and we're proud of this. We're proud of their diversity and what they bring to all of us, but now they have family members and are deeply concerned about what's going on in their home country.

So, we're concerned about those individuals and our support is with President Biden as he manages through this crisis. And also remind everyone that we are on heightened alert with respect to cybersecurity and our own defenses. We had a meeting with our commissioners over the weekend. We had another announcement with Mayor Adams to announce a joint security operations center to address the threats and to deal with any incidents as they occur. First time in our nation that there's been this level of coordination between the state and local governments. And we also are putting money behind those efforts in our budget to beef up our own defenses, but also to make money available to localities to be able to deal with this. So, our thoughts are with the individuals who are under siege today.

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