GOP Rep. says Putin 'sticking his thumb in the eye of NATO'

Source: The Hill

09/14/25 4:17 PM ET


Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is provoking NATO with his recent actions.

“We’re seeing incursions, possibly in Poland and Romania. He is sticking his thumb in the eye of NATO,” Crawford told NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt on “The Hill Sunday.”

“I don’t know if he is trying to invoke an Article 5 response, but he is in — in — really endangering his position,” the Arkansas Republican added. “And then further, this should be a wake-up call to the European Union and other nations that, look, we need to tighten up these sanctions. You’ve got to quit buying Russian oil. You’ve got to bring this guy to his knees.”

On Wednesday, Poland invoked the North Atlantic Treaty’s Article 4 in the wake of fighter jets shooting down multiple Russian drones that illegally came into Polish airspace. Russia has said it didn’t purposefully send drones into the airspace, but the action has resulted in NATO allies’ outcry.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/5502941-putin-nato-rick-crawford/