Reid: Putin acts like a ‘schoolyard bully’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that the Senate would continue to pass legislation aimed at punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin if he keeps acting like a “schoolyard bully.”

“Today is an important day for Ukraine,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “This bill is a reality check to [Putin] that the United States will not stand idly by while he plays the role of a schoolyard bully.”

{mosads}The Senate is expected to pass a Ukraine aid package on Thursday that includes sanctions against anyone deemed by President Obama to have undermined Ukraine’s security or independence, or to have engaged in corruption in Ukraine or Russia.

Obama has called for aid to Ukraine since Russian forces centered the Crimean Peninsula weeks ago. Russia annexed Crimea last week, making it a part of Russia.

“I say to President Putin, operating by intimidation and belligerence won’t work,” Reid said. “Consequences for his continued bullying will not end, certainly not with this bill. … What we’re doing here today is just the beginning.”

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