The U.S. is taking steps to further isolate Russia. Congress has voted to ban the import of Russian energy into the country, with the Senate voting unanimously 100-0 in favor of the ban, while the European Union pledges to cut off coal imports from Russia; the impact is expected to be significant as the area largely depends on Russian fossil fuels. And in the strongest rebuke yet, the U.N. voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, with proponents of the suspension arguing that Russia’s participation hurts the council’s credibility.
The decision came after horrific images and reports emerged detailing alleged atrocities committed by Russian forces outside Ukraine’s capital. NATO foreign ministers are also meeting to discuss stepping up military aid and other support for Ukraine, whose foreign minister has called for “weapons, weapons, weapons” — in part, to fend off an onslaught of Russian forces now targeting the eastern part of the country yet again.
U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7th) was in Ukraine just before the conflict began. He’s a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and former senior state department official who oversaw human rights policy under the Obama administration. He discusses the latest developments.
