Nancy Pelosi warns sanctions will be 'painful' should Russia invade Ukraine

With the looming threat of Russia invading Ukraine, the US has repeatedly warned that sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s administration would be severe. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also echoed the severity of the sanctions that will hit Russia should it invade Ukraine.

Speaking during a press briefing at the Munich Security Conference, Pelosi stressed that Putin cannot “bully” the world and not be held accountable. Pelosi also said that an invasion of Russia into Ukraine is also an attack on democracy, with the US and NATO responding with severe sanctions to impose. Pelosi was included in the US delegation at the conference alongside fellow Democratic lawmakers, Reps. Barbara Lee and Adam Schiff.

“There is a price to pay,” said Pelosi during the briefing. “If he decides to, it won’t be a long time for the Russian people, sadly, to feel the impact of the insecure decisions made by their president.”

Pelosi also said that she spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and stressed the severity of the sanctions that could potentially be imposed on Russia. The House Speaker said the “conclusions that were reached are going to be swift, and they are going to be fierce, and they are going to be painful.”

The California Democrat noted that the sanctions on Russia could affect other European nations, but NATO has a united front to stop the aggression coming from the region. Pelosi said that Putin was trying to exacerbate the conflict out of fear of the rising democracy in the world, saying that Ukraine has “embraced democracy.”

Pelosi is also tackling domestic policies that face an uphill battle in the Senate, partly due to the obstructions of West Virginia right-wing Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who claimed that his party’s policies are contributing to inflation. Pelosi pushed back against Manchin’s claim during her appearance on ABC’s “This Week” last week.

“With all respect in the world to my friend Joe Manchin, it’s not right to say what we’re doing is contributing to inflation because it’s exactly the opposite,” said the House Speaker. When host George Stephanopoulos pressed Pelosi on what could be done to keep costs down, Pelosi cited the Build Back Better legislation, that Manchin torpedoed in the Senate, citing inflation and the pandemic.