Members of Maine’s congressional delegation harshly criticized Russian President Vladmir Putin and his country on Thursday after he ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine.

“Ruthless autocrat,” “liar,” “dictator” and “rogue state” were just of the few terms used to describe Putin and his nation by Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, had not issued a statement by Thursday night, but denounced Putin’s intentions earlier this week.

Collins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Putin will not hesitate to kill innocent people to reach his goals.

“Putin’s attempts to recreate the old Soviet Union have been rejected by people who have chosen freedom and democracy,” Collins, a Republican, said in a statement. “So now he has resorted to brute military force against a peaceful country that posed no threat to Russia. He has once again shown himself to be a ruthless autocrat who does not hesitate to kill innocent people while trampling international law.”

King,  a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who also serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was also forceful, characterizing the unprovoked attack by Russia as “heinous.”

Collins and King often speak out on national security and foreign policy issues.

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“Vladimir Putin has singlehandedly decided to end decades of peace among the nations of Europe on the basis of invented grievances and outright lies,” King, an independent, said in a statement. “His weakness of character will not be rewarded. Ukraine will stand strong and the United States, our Allies, and our partners in the free world will stand with them to ensure that Russia feels the consequences of its invasion.

“This attack will not achieve Putin’s goal to seemingly reconstitute the Soviet Union. It will only create unnecessary human suffering. Let’s be clear: an unprovoked attack is not a defensive maneuver; armed soldiers invading a free, sovereign country are not peacekeepers; and not one of Russia’s missile strikes or cyberattacks will help Ukrainians,” King added.

Pingree applauded the additional strong sanctions President Biden imposed Thursday on Russia.

“President Biden’s new imposition of overwhelming sanctions on Russia is merited. Vladmir Putin, his circle of oligarch enablers, and the Russian economy must be punished for invading the sovereign democracy of Ukraine,” Pingree said in a statement. “Russia is now a rogue state and the terror inflicted on innocent Ukrainians will be on Russia’s shoulders alone. The people of Ukraine must know that the United States stands with them during this devastating time.”

Golden was still in the process of preparing a response to the Russian invasion, but in a statement made Wednesday he denounced Putin’s actions as hostile toward the United States.

“With his efforts to spread disinformation through social media to undermine American democracy, and his support of cyber criminals that attack the United States, Putin has shown hostile intent against our country again and again,” Golden said. “Under his leadership Russia is no friend of the United States. The sanctions announced today are overdue and additional sanctions may be necessary to provide a strong enough deterrent to Russian aggression.”

“The situation in Ukraine does not at this time pose a direct national security threat to the United States that would warrant putting American troops in harm’s way, but if the people of Ukraine are willing to resist Putin’s invasion of their country, then the Biden Administration should make clear that America will ensure Ukrainians have the resources they need to fight for their freedom.”


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