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Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Robert Menendez: It's Time To Arm Ukraine

Senator Says It's Time To Arm Ukraine
Matt Sledge
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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 08:Committee chairman Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) questions U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerning the 2015 international affairs budget on Capitol Hill April 8, 2014 in Washington, DC. Kerry discussed a wide range of topics, including the conflict in Syria, relations with Iran, and also discussed the possibility of additional economic sanctions on Russia. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 08:Committee chairman Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) questions U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing concerning the 2015 international affairs budget on Capitol Hill April 8, 2014 in Washington, DC. Kerry discussed a wide range of topics, including the conflict in Syria, relations with Iran, and also discussed the possibility of additional economic sanctions on Russia. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said it's time for President Barack Obama's administration to arm Ukraine in the face of a Russian "invasion."

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" from Ukraine's capital Kiev, Menendez said Russian President Vladimir Putin has "sized up" the west and decided that it will not give Ukraine enough aid to defend itself.

NATO estimates there are 1,000 Russian troops in Ukraine, but Obama has avoided calling that an "invasion," perhaps worried about the obligations that might follow.

Menendez said what the Russians are up to is clearly an invasion, and argued that it's time to act.

"We have to give the Ukrainians the fighting chance to defend themselves," he said.

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Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine

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