Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) told CNN's Jake Tapper that Russia's military incursion into Ukraine was an "invasion of one country against another sovereign country in a totally unprovoked way," breaking from the Obama administration's avoidance of the term "invasion."
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman said he uses the term "invasion" because it is important for the U.S. and Europe to recognize this as a "watershed moment" in which Russia has violated the international order.
"You just don't simply by force invade another country, take territory, without serious consequences to those actions," Menendez said. "Otherwise, the global message we send is going to be really consequential."
Menendez dismissed other "euphemisms" used to describe Russian military advances, saying, "to me, that's an invasion."