Russia-Ukraine crisis will have an “impact on Americans,” Rubio says

Despite the Biden administration imposing stricter sanctions against Russia, Florida Senator and Vice Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Marco Rubio, told “CBS Mornings” that he believes that those sanctions won’t do anything to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.

“I don’t believe the sanctions will stop them from doing what their plan is but I do think that if you don’t pay a price for doing this, he’s going to do more of it,” Rubio said. 

Senator Rubio said he believes that Putin will take the entire east of Ukraine and will attempt to take over Kyiv. 

“I think Ukrainians are gonna fight back but this is gonna have an impact on Americans even though it seems to be really far away,” said Rubio. 

One of the ways Americans will feel the effects of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine is at the gas pump. Oil prices are near $100 a barrel — their highest level since 2014. Another way Rubio said is in grocery stores. 

“Ukraine is one of the world’s largest agricultural producers, fourth largest, I believe in wheat, fifth-largest in corn. That’s going to raise global food prices, which eventually impact us. Because when somebody gets cut off of that, now they become our competitors in the global market for food costs,” he said. 

Rubio said the space industry and neon fuel industry will also be impacted.  

While President Biden has said he will not send U.S. service members to fight Russia in Ukraine, Rubio said America must do everything possible to ensure peace between the two nuclear powers.  

“We’re not the world’s policemen, we’re not sending troops into Ukraine, but… our number one priority is our national interest. Our national interest is impacted by what’s happening there. And I outlined some of the reasons why and there are other geopolitical perspectives,” he said. “I would just say this, if COVID taught us anything, is that’s something that happens and starts halfway around the world can reach, you know, Main Street America pretty quickly. Obviously, this is not at that scale, but it’s important enough to care about it.”