Biden announces new measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday announced what he called a harsh new round of sanctions against her RussiaJust hours after Moscow launched a missile attack against UkraineThis plunged Europe into one of its most serious security crises since World War II.

Speaking from the White House, Biden criticized President Vladimir Putin for his “blatant aggression against Ukraine” and vowed to make the Russian president “a pariah on the international stage.”

“Putin is the aggressor,” Biden said. “Putin chose this war. Now he and his country will bear the consequences.”

After weeks of promoting a diplomatic solution, the invasion changed Biden’s tone.

In response to a reporter’s question about the relationship between the two countries, he said: “There is a complete break in US-Russian relations now.”

New sanctions are restricting exports of some products from the United States to Russia, preventing Moscow from acquiring semiconductor chips and other technologies essential to defense, aerospace and other vital sectors. The sanctions also target Russian banks and elites with close ties to Putin, which has resulted in the freezing of all assets Russia has in the United States.

Biden also authorized the deployment of US forces in Germany and said NATO allies would hold a summit on Friday “to chart the next steps.” The president reiterated his commitment not to send US troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, but said the United States would defend its NATO allies if Russia advanced outside Ukraine.

Biden announced a tight preliminary round of Penalties against Russia on Tuesday after Putin moved his forces into Moscow-backed separatist regions in the eastern part of Ukraine, hoping to deter the Russian leader from launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Biden warned at the time that tougher measures would be taken against Russia if Putin escalated the situation.

Thursday’s announcement fell short of cutting Russia off from it Swift Belgian financial messaging system Connects more than 11,000 financial institutions In more than 200 countries and regions – and Putin was not directly punished. Some financial experts have described the United States and Europe’s move to expel Russia from the Swift system as a nuclear option, with some warning that it could have negative effects on the global economy.

Biden said European allies oppose Russia’s expulsion from the Swift system, but argued that the sanctions announced this week were “more significant” and said they could always reconsider Russia’s access to the Swift system. Biden said that punishing Putin is still on the table.

Moscow launched a massive offensive on Thursday, bombing Ukrainian cities and infrastructure as Russian forces attempted to advance toward Kiev. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, said dozens of Ukrainian civilians were killed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukrainians to take up arms in defense. The defense minister also announced that small arms would be distributed to all veterans and volunteers.

Biden was adamant about not sending US troops to Ukraine to fight Russia and relied heavily on sanctions to punish Moscow.

Biden urged Americans to be patient about the sanctions, saying they would “take time” to “weaken” Russia. He warned that Americans might feel some economic pain from the invasion, but he expected the impact to be short-lived.

The president said his administration is taking active steps to ensure that gas prices do not rise further, and warned oil and gas companies not to take advantage of the moment to raise prices. The United States will be prepared to take advantage of oil reserves As needed, Biden said.

“I will do everything in my power to reduce the pain the American people are feeling for the gas injection,” Biden said. “This is extremely important to me. But this aggression cannot go unanswered.”

America stands up to bullies.