Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly weighs in on Russia cutting off gas to 2 NATO nations

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) -- Russia cut off natural gas to NATO members Poland and Bulgaria and threatened to do the same to other countries, using its most essential export as an attempt to punish and divide the West for its united support of Ukraine. The move was condemned by European leaders as “blackmail.”

It marked a dramatic escalation in the economic war of sanctions and countersanctions that has unfolded parallel to the fighting on the battlefield, where fighting continues in Ukraine’s east. One person was killed and at least two injured when rockets hit a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv. The commander of a marine unit inside the last stronghold in the gutted city of Mariupol said the situation there was “very difficult.”

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly urged the United States on Wednesday to look for any opportunity to help Ukraine as Russia steps up its assault on the country.

“It’s important that we recognize that it’s not going to be acceptable for the Russians to prevail in this effort,” Kelly said during an interview on 3TV’s Good Morning Arizona.

The senator’s comments come after Kelly returned from an overseas trip that included a stop in Poland where he spoke to American service members stationed there and Ukrainian refugees who have fled their home country.

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