Blonde Woman Blue Dress State of the Union 2020
Ukraine-Born Lawmaker Escorts Biden at State of the Union After Criticizing Response to Russia
Hours before the presidential address, Indiana's Victoria Spartz harshly criticized the president for, in her words, not doing more to stop Russian aggression in the country of her birth
Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican who is Ukrainian American, was one of the official escorts for President Joe Biden at his first State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.
Spartz, 43, was seen with Biden walking into the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol; she is one of approximately two dozen lawmakers on the bipartisan escort committee for this year's speech.
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The Indiana lawmaker was born in Nosivka and immigrated to the U.S. in 2000, according to her official biography. She was first elected in 2020 to represent a district in Indiana.
"Growing up in Ukraine molded her conservative political philosophy that limited government is always better," according to her bio, "and financial and healthcare decisions should be made by individuals in the free market, not bureaucrats and special interests."
"They're bombing civilians nonstop, day and night," she said. "They are using illegal weapons. They now have special groups trying to kill women and children."
(The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity on Monday. Russia has denied targeting civilian cites, despite accounts otherwise.)
Spartz also criticized the president for his handling of the crisis, saying at one point, "He needs to get his act together and exercise some leadership."
Her comments contrasted with Biden's message on Tuesday, when he said NATO "matters," and added, "American diplomacy matters. American resolve matters." Biden has also highlighted increasingly severe economic sanctions being levied against Russia.
"We have a president that talks about and talks about and doesn't do things," Spartz said in her criticism of the administration. "What is it going to do? Wait until a million died, then he is going to do more?"
She also offered a warning, speculating that Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression may spread.
President Joe Biden
| Credit: Win McNamee/Getty
"If we don't stop him there, he is not going to stop. He is going to go further. And then we are going to have to send our children to stop him," she said. "Then we'll have to send our children to die to fight this."
On that point in his speech Tuesday, Biden appeared to agree about the Russian leader. "Throughout our history we've learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression they cause more chaos," he said. "They keep moving. And the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising."
Russia's attack on Ukraine continues after the country invaded on Thursday, with forces moving from the north, south and east.
Details of the fighting change by the day, but this is the first major land conflict in Europe in decades — and hundreds have already been reported dead or wounded, including children. Thousands more people have fled or tried to escape Ukraine amid warnings of a possible "refugee crisis."
"You don't know where to go, where to run, who you have to call," Liliya Marynchak, a 45-year-old teacher in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, told PEOPLE recently of the moment her city was bombed.
"This is just panic," she said.
The invasion, ordered by Putin, has drawn widespread condemnation around the world and penalties against Russia.
Various countries have pledged aid or military support to Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called for peace talks — since seemingly stalled — while urging his country to resist.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called "peacekeeping."
"The prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine," Biden said as the invasion began in force last week.
Source: https://people.com/politics/victoria-spartz-escorts-biden-at-sotu-after-criticizing-response-russian-aggression/
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