Hello,

The images coming out of Ukraine are horrific. Innocent civilians shot dead in the streets. Mass graves. Entire cities leveled to the ground. Horrific, but expected.

There is only one word to describe what the Russian army has done: Criminal.

I was a three-star admiral in the U.S. Navy. I know what war looks like, and it is not the indiscriminate bombing of apartment buildings, shelters, and hospitals filled with children. Those are war crimes.

It is time to evacuate civilians. It is time to play hardball and state publicly which Russian unit, under whose command, did what. The United States and allied intelligence services have the capability to pull back the curtain and expose who, what, when, and where. It can be a powerful tool to stop the next atrocity before it happens.

No one in Washington – Democrat or Republican – is saying these things right now. But when I defeat Chuck Grassley this November, I’ll be the most senior military person ever-elected to the United States Senate. These are serious times; maybe we need someone like that right now.

The polls show I can win, but Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are already raising millions into Super PACs to try to stop me. The only way I can defeat Chuck Grassley and turn Iowa blue is with the help of grassroots donors like you now:

Please, may I count on you to give $5 or more to my campaign now – whatever you can afford – to help me defeat Chuck Grassley, turn Iowa blue, and protect our Democratic majority in the Senate?

The parts of Ukraine overtaken by destruction are mere Pyrrhic victories for the Russians but they’re at heart-wrenching cost to civilian Ukrainians. History will not be Putin’s friend. Russia had better do something about Vladimir the Wretched.

My faith is firmly with the Ukrainian people, and we must continue to support them in every way we can.

Thank you for being a part of the team,

Mike Franken, U.S. Navy (ret.)