HARTFORD—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement applauding the Administration’s call today for sectoral economic sanctions if Russia or its proxies disrupt Ukraine’s May 25 presidential elections:

I applaud the recent statement by Secretary Kerry following a meeting with our European allies in London that, “If Russia or its proxies disrupt the election, the United States and those countries represented here today in the European Union will impose sectoral economic sanctions as a result.”  This is precisely the type of strong and clear message that I called for in a Senate floor speech earlier this week. 

I also commend the Administration’s efforts to urge our European allies to move in concert with us on additional sanctions.  Multilateral sanctions are always more effective than unilateral action.  However, if Russia makes the grave mistake of interfering in Ukraine’s election or further violating her sovereignty, the United States should not shrink from acting alone if necessary.  The stakes are too high, not just for Ukraine, but for Europe and beyond. 

The May 25 election in Ukraine is critically important to the democratic aspirations of the Ukrainian people and to ensuring a Europe whole, free and at peace.  The United States should make it unequivocally clear that if Russia prevents these elections from taking place in a free and fair manner, we will move toward industry level sanctions against Russia.  

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