President Joe Biden is expected to address the nation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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President Joe Biden is expected to address the nation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
(REUTERS)
President Joe Biden has pushed back his address to the nation about the escalating crisis in Ukraine after holding emergency meetings with the G7 leaders and his national security council to come up with a plan of action against Russia.
The president will now speak at 1:30pm ET on Thursday - one hour later than planned - where he is expected to unveil a series of sanctions against Moscow including further restrictions on banks and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning with a series of missile attacks including close to the capital Kiev.
Dozens of Ukrainians have been killed, civilians are fleeing their homes and global markets have plunged.
The attacks came just minutes after Mr Putin announced he was launching a “special military operation” in the country.
Mr Biden vowed to hold Russia “accountable” for the “unprovoked and unjustified attack” and condemned the attack in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky overnight.
On Thursday morning, the president held a national security council meeting in the White House before joining the other leaders of the G7 in a meeting where the nations vowed to roll out “severe sanctions” on Russia.
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Show latest update 1645723442 UK PM imposes sanctions on 100 Russians in announcement before Biden’s address
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country is imposing economic sanctions on more than 100 Russian individuals, entities and subsidiaries - including oligarchs close to Mr Putin - ahead of Mr Biden’s announcement on US sanctions on Russia.
Mr Johnson set out the government’s plan to expand sanctions on Thursday including freezing the assets of all major Russian banks – including VTB – and banning the Russian airline Aeroflot from landing planes in the UK.
The wealthy oligarchs on the expanded sanctions list will be hit with a travel ban and have assets frozen, while all UK-based firms will be banned from doing business with them.
The prime minister told MPs it was the “largest package of measures Russia has ever seen” – and promised Russian oligarchs living in London “would have nowhere to hide”.
The announcement came just hours after Mr Johnson and Mr Biden joined other G7 leaders for a virtual meeting on the situation in Ukraine.
Read the full story here:
Boris Johnson imposes new sanctions on over 100 Russian oligarchs and entities PM brands Putin ‘blood-stained aggressor’ as he vows to ‘hobble’ Russian economy
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 17:24
1645722658 US defence official says Russia’s attack on Ukraine is worst since World War II
A US defence official has said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine is the worst that the world has seen since World War II.
The senior official told CNN on Thursday morning that the world has not seen a “move like this, nation state-to-nation state, since World War II... certainly nothing on this size and scope and scale.”
“This is 100 per cent a war of choice that Putin has decided to wage for reasons that are not justified,” they said.
The official added that if the assault continues to unfold the way they believe it will it has “every potential to be very bloody, very costly and very impactful on European security writ large”.
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 17:10
1645722350 Ukrainians in the US call for the West to do more to stop ‘terrorist’ Putin
Ukrainians in the US are calling on the West to do more to stop “terrorist number one” Mr Putin in his assault on their home country.
Sergiy Donkin, the head of a local Ukrainian-US organisation in New York, told The Independent the Ukrainian military could hold out against Russian forces for a time, but would need additional military and financial backing.
“Ukraine has a strong army right now, has a good president. There’s no panic, we need to stop this crazy guy, Putin. He is terrorist number one in the world,” he said on Thursday.
“I hope that the US stops this crazy guy. America, England, every normal country needs to support us.”
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‘Terrorist number one’: Ukrainians in the US react to Putin’s invasion ‘There’s no panic, we need to stop this crazy guy, Putin’
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 17:05
1645721521 How can US troops help Ukraine?
The US currently has roughly 90,000 troops on the continent, with Mr Biden steadily increasing the concentration in Eastern Europe in recent weeks as Russia ramped up its presence at the Ukrainian border.
Over the past month, the president has deployed around 5,000 US-based troops to Europe, the majority to Germany – and more than doubled the number of troops in Poland and Romania to around 9,000 and 2,000, respectively.
This week, after Russia announced it would not withdraw forces deployed to Belarus for purported military exercises, Mr Biden said he had authorised “additional movements of US forces and equipment already stationed in Europe” to shore up defences in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. All three Baltic states are – like Ukraine – former Soviet republics, but unlike Ukraine, are Nato members.
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How many US troops could help Ukraine and where are they stationed? Biden has maintained that the US military will not directly enter the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 16:52
1645721273 G7 leaders unite to condemn Putin for ‘reintroducing war’ to Europe
The leaders of the G7 have united in condemning Mr Putin for “reintroducing war” to Europe after they gathered for an emergency meeting about the situation in Ukraine on Thursday morning.
The group released a joint statement saying they “stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine” and “are bringing forward severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions” against Russia in response to the attack.
“He has put himself on the wrong side of history,” they said of Mr Putin.
The meeting, which lasted roughly one hour, included Mr Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“We the Leaders of the Group of Seven are appalled by and condemn the large-scale military aggression by the Russian Federation against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, directed partly from Belarusian soil,” the statement read.
“This unprovoked and completely unjustified attack on the democratic state of Ukraine was preceded by fabricated claims and unfounded allegations.”
The leaders called on Russia to “stop the bloodshed, to immediately de-escalate and to withdraw its forces from Ukraine”.
“We condemn President Putin for his consistent refusal to engage in a diplomatic process to address questions pertaining to European security, despite our repeated offers,” the statement said.
“We stand united with partners, including NATO, the EU and their member states as well as Ukraine and remain determined to do what is necessary to preserve the integrity of the rules-based international order.”
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 16:47
1645720634 Lawmakers call for new US sanctions to ‘create the same situation that caused the Soviet Union to collapse'
US lawmakers are calling on the president to introduce new sanctions on Russia, with California Rep Ted Lieu saying the nation must create “the same situation that caused the Soviet Union to collapse”.
“Many people will die for no reason because of the unprovoked invasion by Putin of Ukraine, a sovereign nation. Russia has a weak economy,” he tweeted.
“The US and our allies will target Russia’s economy with sanctions, to create the same situation that caused the Soviet Union to collapse.”
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar called for America to unite in response to Mr Putin’s attack and act with “swift sanctions and consequences”.
“Putin’s invasion of a free democracy has begun. The warnings from our Intel sources were right,” she said.
“There must now be swift sanctions and consequences worldwide. It is the time for our country and our world to unite. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine.”
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 16:37
1645720236 UK vows to ‘hobble the Russia economy'
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to “hobble the Russia economy” with a “massive” package of sanctions as NATO allies rally together to crack down on Moscow.
In a televised address to the nation, Mr Johnson said: “Today, in concert with our allies, we will agree a massive package of economic sanctions designed in time to hobble the Russian economy.
“And to that end, we must also collectively cease the dependence on Russian oil and gas that for too long has given Putin his grip on Western politics.”
Read the full story here:
PM: West must end Russian ‘grip’ on politics by ending dependence on Putin’s oil Boris Johnson was working to rally European leaders after Moscow began an invasion of Ukraine.
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 16:30
1645719804 ICYMI: What we know so far about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Russia launched a “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning, in a series of ongoing attacks that have left dozens of troops and civilians dead.
President Vladimir Putin announced in a televised statement that Russia was carrying out a “special military operation” in Ukraine just before 6am local time.
Minutes later, explosions and airstrikes rocked several cities, including the capital Kiev, as the country came under attack from three sides of the east, north and south by Russian troops.
Ukrainian officials said that at least 40 troops and around 10 civilians had been killed so far while several reports of fatalities continue to emerge.
NATO allies are implementing new rounds of sanctions on Russia in support of Ukraine, while civilians are desperately trying to flee the place they call home.
Read the full story here:
Russia launches invasion of Ukraine as world leaders vow to punish Putin More than 40 people have already been killed
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 16:23
1645719134 Bipartisan group of lawmakers asks Biden to seek congressional approval before sending US troops into Ukraine
A bipartisan group of lawmakers have urged Mr Biden to seek congressional approval before sending US troops into Ukraine.
In a rare show of solidarity, 43 US lawmakers including progressive Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush and Donald Trump Republican allies Matt Gaetz and Paul Gosar signed a letter to the president on Tuesday.
In it, they ask that Mr Biden consults with Congress if he plans to station any US troops in Ukraine or to have US troops “engage in hostilities” between Ukraine and Russia.
“To date, you have rejected calls to station US armed forces in Ukraine, stating such an effort is ‘not on the table’,” the letter read.
“However, if the ongoing situation compels you to introduce the brave men and women of our military into Ukraine, their lives would inherently be put at risk if Russia chooses to invade.
“Therefore, we ask that your decisions comport with the Constitution and our nation’s laws by consulting with Congress to receive authorisation before any such deployment.”
The letter added: “The American people, through their representatives in Congress, deserve to have a say before U.S. troops are placed in harm’s way or the US becomes involved in yet another foreign conflict.”
Mr Biden has said on multiple occasions that US troops will not enter Ukraine to defend the country against Russia.
Ukraine is a US ally but is not a member of NATO so the NATO countries are not required to defend it from attack.
The US does have troops stationed in Europe and has been deploying troops to nations bordering Ukraine to shore up their defences this week.
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 16:12
1645718235 What sanctions is Biden expected to roll out now?
The president is expected to announce a new wave of sanctions on Russia when he addresses the US public at 12:30pm ET.
These measures are expected to include new sanctions on large Russian banks, restrictions on Mr Putin’s inner circle and cutting the nation off from advanced technology.
On Tuesday, Mr Biden introduced what he said would be “a first tranche” of sanctions on two large Russian state-owned banks, Russia’s sovereign debt and several Russian elites and their families who have close ties to the Kremlin.
At the time, he warned that any Russian financial institutions could be a target for further restrictions.
Rachel Sharp 24 February 2022 15:57
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