"History shows that a tyrant's appetite for conquest is never satiated," Senator Mitt Romney said. Photo: Senator Mitt Romney

SALT LAKE CITY — After Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, Utah Senator Mitt Romney echoed sentiments he made during the 2012 presidential campaign when he labeled Russia as the United States’ number one geopolitical foe.

During the announcement, Putin said that any foreign attempt to interfere with the Kremlin’s operation would result in “consequences they have never seen.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that “Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.” Explosions were reported in multiple cities across the country following the Russian leader’s declaration.

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“Putin’s Ukraine invasion is the first time in 80 years that a great power has moved to conquer a sovereign nation,” Romney said in a statement. “Putin’s impunity predictably follows our tepid response to his previous horrors in Georgia and Crimea, our naive efforts at a one-sided ‘reset,’ and the shortsightedness of ‘America First.’ The ’80s called’ and we didn’t answer.”

pic.twitter.com/1sVNk4RiJa
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 24, 2022

“The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years,” former President Barack Obama infamously said on the 2012 debate stage in response to Romney’s stance at the time.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that “the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way.” Biden said he is meeting with his G7 counterparts tomorrow and will later address the American people.

Where to follow the Ukraine-Russia development:

Associated Press coverage

New York Times live updates

Washington Post live updates

Financial Times Moscow Bureau Chief Max Seddon

Zelensky speaks to the nation. He says he’s declared martial law and urges Ukrainians to stay home.
“We are working. The army is working,” he says. “Don’t panic. We are strong. We are ready for everything. We will defeat everyone. Because we are Ukraine.” pic.twitter.com/vamBb0pLWu

— max seddon (@maxseddon) February 24, 2022