Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and U.S. Sen. John Boozman expressed their support Friday for Ukraine and its citizens as Russia continues a military invasion of the sovereign eastern European nation.
During his weekly press conference, Hutchinson said the U.S. needs to enact severe sanctions on Russia and suggested President Joe Biden hasn’t acted as quickly as he would like.
“We don’t need to hold anything back right now, we need to give the full weight of our sanctions now,” Hutchinson said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned countries not to interfere, threatening they would see consequences like they have never seen before.
“Circumstances require firm and immediate actions from us,” Putin said on Tuesday.
The invasion has brought up concerns in the U.S. about the supply chain for resources like energy and oil. The price of oil has gone up in recent days.
Hutchinson told reporters he hopes the Biden Administration will be more aggressive in increasing domestic energy production. He said he doesn’t think the U.S. should rely on foreign countries to provide necessary resources.
“We need to strengthen the supply in the United States versus curtailing it, that happened during the Biden administration,” Hutchinson said.
“Even though the sanctions might have that impact of restricting the supply chain, it’s absolutely necessary.” Hutchinson said. “I think that Arkansans understand that we can’t stand by idly, even though there is a cost to every action that is taken.”
Congress will reconvene next week and is expected to discuss possible actions the U.S. could take to help Ukraine. Sen. John Boozeman said Friday that many members of Congress feel the president has not been stern enough in imposing sanctions.
“Republicans and Democrats are coming together to really start talking about rationing things down.” Boozeman said. “The Russians need to understand that because of this aggression, they are going to pay a very significant price.”
Boozman made his comments to reporters inside the state Capitol in Little Rock while filing to run for reelection.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said on Twitter Friday that the city will light up the bridges crossing the Arkansas River in blue and yellow this weekend “to demonstrate support and stand in solidarity with Ukraine.”
