A member of Ukraine's parliament said in a now-viral clip that the U.S. cares more about gas prices than the number of people dying in Ukraine.
The clip, which came from a Fox News segment on Tuesday, was posted to Reddit's "Public Freakout" forum on Thursday by Redditor u/Smartercow. Already, it has received more than 76,000 upvotes and nearly 4,000 comments.
"So, let's talk honestly that you care more about whether you pay [an] extra 50 cents for your gas prices or how many people die in Ukraine," Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova said during her Fox News appearance.
"Every day, and you see it on TV, I get these sirens on my cell phones every day because I live in Kyiv and I am connected to all the infrastructure, so I wake up every day just texting my friends if they are alive," she said later in the segment.
According to The Independent, Ustinova made similar comments in a Tuesday morning appearance on MSNBC.
"I understand that your gas prices might go up, but [is] it worse, maybe 50-cents extra to pay for a gallon... worse than many lives in Ukraine? We have to be honest because right now everybody's playing politics," Ustinova reportedly said.
Ahead of those comments, Ustinova critiqued President Joe Biden's sanctions against Russia, arguing that they aren't harsh enough.
"I was looking at the sanctions and I was very surprised because we were promised that if the Russian soldier steps on Ukrainian land, [the U.S.] will have a really good response," she told Fox News's Martha MacCallum in the now-viral clip.
"Well, I'm sorry but the sanctions avoided the energy sector," she continued.
But sanctions against Moscow's energy sector could be underway. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she was "all in" on banning imports of Russian oil.
"I'm all for that," Pelosi told reporters Thursday. "Ban it. Ban the oil coming from Russia."
Further, President Joe Biden said that "nothing is off the table" when asked about a possible Russian oil ban on Wednesday.
Biden also announced Thursday that he plans to impose new sanctions on Russian oligarchs.
"This afternoon, I'll be meeting with my Cabinet at the White House. We'll be discussing additional sanctions on Russian oligarchs, our plans to lower costs for Americans, our unity agenda, and more," Biden tweeted.
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