GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio is using a speech on Friday to blast Russian President Vladimir Putin as ' a gangster and a thug,' and vowing to take a hard line against 'Russian agression' if he is elected president. In prepared remarks distributed before his speech, Rubio plans to tell a national security forum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that he will impose everything from personal sanctions on top Russian officials to 'lethal military assistance' to the country of Ukraine to counter Putin. Rubio, fresh off a new surge in the polls that puts him in second place behind billionaire Donald Trump in the GOP race, was no less kinder to President Obama, whom he blamed for 'failing the test of leadership' against Putin and his 'aggression.'Surging in the polls, Florida senator uses Iowa speech to condemn Russian leader'We are barreling toward a Second Cold War,' Rubio says and accuses Obama of 'failing the test of leadership against Putin'Vows to impose sanctions on Russian leaders, send arms to UkraineCalls Russian airstrikes in Syria a tactic to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
'I will immediately provide Ukraine with lethal military assistance and increased intelligence sharing to ensure that _’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty comes at a price.'