President Joe Biden forcefully condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, and announced strong sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Mr Biden’s words come after Russia invaded the former Soviet bloc nation after he had recognised two regions as independent. Mr Putin had accumulated a series of troops on the ground.
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“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Mr Biden said in an address from the White House, noting how the Russian leader moved 175,000 troops and military supplies ahead of the invasion.
“For weeks, we have been warning that this would happen, and now, it’s unfolding largely as we predicted,” he said. "We have purposefully designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies.”
The president said that the United States had already sanctioned Russian banks that hold about $1 trillion in assets, adding that it was also blocking four more major banks.
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“Every asset they have in America will be frozen,” he said.
The words come after Mr Biden had attempted to use a diplomatic approach prior to the invasion. He had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and said he had briefed him on the steps the United States was taking to punish Russia.
“Putin is the aggressor,” he said.
Mr Biden said he had spoken with the G7 leaders, which had kicked Russia out of the what was then called the G8 in 2014 following its seizure of the Ukrainian region of Crimea. The president said the United States is closely monitoring energy supplies and urged energy companies to not take advantage of the situation.
“This was never about a genuine security concern,” he said.
While Mr Biden said that “our forces are not, and will not, be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine,” he did say that they would “defend our Nato allies and reassure those allies in the east.” He also said that US forces will defend “every inch of Nato territory with the full force of American power.”
The president also said he had no plans to speak with Mr Putin. Over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron had brokered a potential summit between the two heads of state, but the White House had stipulated that a meeting would only happen if Russia didn’t invade Ukraine.
“It’s a large conflict already, the way make sure it’s going to spiral into a larger conflict is by providing all the forces needed in the Eastern European nations that are members of Nato,” he said.
When asked about whether Mr Biden underestimated Mr Putin, he explained why he believed his Russian counterpart had decided to invade Ukraine.
“He wants to, in fact, reestablish the former Soviet Union. That's what this is about. And I think that his ambitions are completely contrary to the place where the rest of the world has arrived,” he said.
This infographic, created for The Independent by statistics agency Statista, shows the relative military strength of Ukraine and Russia
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This infographic, created for The Independent by statistics agency Statista, shows the relative military strength of Ukraine and Russia
(Statista/The Independent)
Many Republicans echoed Mr Biden’s sentiments blaming Mr Putin for the war in Ukraine.
“Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is reckless and evil,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said. “The United States stands with the people of Ukraine and prays for their safety and resolve. Putin’s actions must be met with serious consequence. This act of war is intended to rewrite history and more concerning, upend the balance of power in Europe. Putin must be held accountable for his actions.”
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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a Democrat, said the action should be the final death of the Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline between Russia and Germany. He also called for Russia to be kicked out of the SWIFT banking system.
“I don’t think there’s any situation where we will have American boots on the ground in Ukraine,” he said. “We need to dramatically escalate the sanctions that we place on Russia for this act of naked aggression by the Kremlin dictator.”
At the same time, some backbencher members from both parties criticised his response. Republican Rep Nancy Mace from South Carolina, who is a graduate of the Citadel military college, criticised Mr Biden for being naive. Instead, she called for the president to open pipelines, increase energy production and exports to Europe along with “real” sanctions.
“The traffic tickets President Biden is writing won’t stop tanks and missiles,” she said.
Conversely, Democratic Rep Cori Bush of Missouri, a member of the Squad of progressive lawmakers, urged the president not to use sanctions.
“Putin’s murderous dictatorship is killing people right now in a brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine,” she said. “Now is the time for us to act with moral clarity. We must use every tool to save lives and promote diplomacy — not military escalation or inhumane sanctions.”