WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, which includes NATO and U.S.-Russia policy, released the following statement on Wednesday after reports of a Russian intelligence ship patrolling off the East Coast near the Naval Submarine Base in New London, Connecticut.

"While this is not wholly unprecedented, it’s part of a series of aggressive actions by Russia that threaten U.S. national security and the security of our allies. Just yesterday, news broke that Russia violated an Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Coupled with escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine and Russian jets buzzing a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Black Sea, Putin clearly thinks the Trump administration has given him a permission slip to flex his muscles. President Trump and his administration must end their silence and immediately respond to these threats to our national security.” 

After Russia secretly deployed a ground-launched cruise missile, Murphy called on the Trump administration to condemn Russia for violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and reiterate support for NATO allies.

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