💙💛 Democracy must be defended and fascism must be fought

We are engaged in a struggle, around the world and here at home, in a fight for democracy and against autocracy.

Will the people of the world live free, with governments that respect human rights, free speech, freedom of the press, and self-determination? Or will we allow tyrants and dictators to crush freedom to entrench their power and enrich the oligarchs?

That struggle has become a violent one in Ukraine, where Vladimir Putin seeks to put down a rising democracy. Make no mistake, Putin is a vicious dictator who had no justification to attack Ukraine.

On Thursday night, I voted yes to send humanitarian aid and military assistance to Ukraine. The American people stand united with the international community against Putin's aggression.

We must stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they fight for their country and their democracy.

We must give the heroes in Ukraine the supplies and defenses they need to fight back against Putin's illegal war.

We must aid our allies that are welcoming refugees fleeing their homes to escape the violence in Ukraine.

We must impose tough economic sanctions on Russia, on Vladimir Putin, and on the oligarchs that hide his wealth and empower his rule.

We must stand with our Russian-American neighbors here at home, many of whom fled Russia to escape oppression and seek freedom here.

And we must, at long last, end our dependence on fossil fuels — banning Russian oil imports, reducing our demand for oil from other authoritarian regimes, and bringing an end to the climate crisis.

On Thursday, I also joined my friend Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in a bill to tax the windfall profits of Big Oil and send the money right back to the American people to offset high prices at the pump.

In every generation, democracy must be defended and fascism must be fought. This is our time.

Onward.