Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) on Saturday called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “murderous thug” amid Russia’s ongoing invasion into Ukraine.
“I hope when we go back our 100% focus in the Senate is,” Scott said during an appearance on Fox News’s “The Story.” “How do we help Ukraine? How do we stop Putin? How do we put Putin in a box, make sure the world community knows he’s just a murderous thug?”
Scott called the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine “disgusting,” referring specifically to videos of tanks and warships mowing down Ukrainians.
“Putin’s not going to change,” Scott said. “He’s going to continue to try to swallow up more and more territory to get back to the Soviet Union.”
Scott called for strong support for Ukraine, along with severe sanctions and restrictions against Russia.
“I think we ought to make sure that, if we can shut down all their ability to sell anything,” Scott said of Russia. “So we cripple their economy, which is the only way Putin has any money.”
Scott also called for the Ukrainians to be given “every military asset we can give them,” saying they should be provided with weapons and other provisions – though not with American military forces.
However, he warned that if Russia is able to overtake Ukraine, there is more of a likelihood that American men and women will need to be involved in a military conflict with Russia.
Scott criticized the Biden administration’s approach to foreign policy, claiming that President Biden’s actions have put the U.S. and its allies in jeopardy.
“The Biden administration’s been weak,” Scott said. “The Afghanistan withdrawal showed Putin that Biden’s not a serious president, he’s not going to focus on democracy around the world.”
The U.S. and its allies have imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine overnight Wednesday, with leaders from the U.S., the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada announcing in a joint statement on Saturday that they would kick certain banks out of a major international banking system.
