Russia emboldened by Biden's diplomatic 'weakness,' delayed sanctions, House Foreign Affairs Republicans say

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Russia emboldened by Biden's diplomatic 'weakness,' delayed sanctions, House Foreign Affairs Republicans say

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee criticized President Biden over his diplomatic "weakness" and said the administration's delay in issuing crippling sanctions emboldened Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"I think that this weakness that the Biden administration and the diplomatic failure is projecting is that our enemies and adversaries around the world know they can walk all over Joe Biden and his weak diplomatic core," Rep. Claudia Tenney told Fox News. "We should have imposed sanctions earlier – strict, crippling sanctions." 

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"We could have done something months ago when we knew Putin was amassing troops on the Ukrainian border, and we should have done something to show force," the  Republican said. "For example, maybe putting a couple of destroyers into the Black Sea."

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 24: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified" military invasion of neighboring Ukraine in the East Room of the White House on February 24, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday by land, air and sea in the largest military attack of one state against another on the European continent since World War II. 

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The wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday hit cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee. Ukraine's government said Russian tanks and troops rolled across the border in a "full-scale war" that could rewrite the geopolitical order.

Russian President Vladmir Putin "has diabolically moved in and invaded the country without provocation and is now leaving a trail of [civilian and military] casualties," Tenney told Fox News. "This is what we're hearing from unverified reports – we're watching the live shelling of the entire country."

"He's using cyber, air, land, sea – everything he can to shut down Ukraine," she continued.

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Rep. Steve Chabot echoed similar sentiments. He said Putin has capitalized on what he called Biden's projected "weakness."

"There has been weakness projected by this administration, and weakness invites aggression," the Ohio Republican told Fox News. "I think Putin has taken advantage of the situation."

"I think Afghanistan projected the worst message possible to the bad actors across the globe, including Putin and President Xi [Jinping] relative to Taiwan," Chabot added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu at the Kremlin, in Moscow on February 14, 2022. ((Photo by ALEXEI NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images))

He, like Tenney, noted that Russia has built up its forces on Ukraine's border "for some time now."

"Republicans have urged the administration to take much stronger action – preemptive sanctions, for example – not half measures after Putin has already acted," Chabot added.

Biden issued harsher sanctions against Russia Thursday afternoon soon after Fox News' interviews with Chabot and Tenney.

"Today, I’m authorizing additional strong sanctions, and new limitations on what can be exported to Russia," Biden said. "This is going to impose a severe cost on the Russian economy both immediately and over time."

"I just spoke with the G-7 leaders this morning," he said. "And we’re in full and total agreement: We will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen to be part of the global economy. We’ll limit their ability to do that."

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Chabot, ahead of Biden's speech, said the administration hasn't been "tough enough" on Russia.

"I don't see the administration acting nearly strong enough, and it looks like the invasion is going to continue to unfold," he told Fox News.

Western nations largely condemned the attack on Ukraine, but it's unclear whether armed forces will get involved. Putin threatened grave consequences if the West intervened.

NATO is sending additional forces to Eastern Europe to bolster defenses.

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Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Thursday that about 40 people have been killed as of Thursday afternoon, The Associated Press reported. Several dozen people have been wounded. He didn't specify whether casualties included civilians.

Zelenskyy said he would provide weapons to citizens who want to help defend the country. He instructed them on Twitter to "be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities."

"The future of the Ukrainian people depends on every Ukrainian," he said Thursday, urging all those who can defend the country to come to the Interior Ministry's assembly facilities.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.