Before the G7 meeting, Biden “called a meeting of the National Security Council … to address the latest developments in Ukraine,” the White House reported.
For weeks, as Russia massed tens of thousands of troops and heavy weapons on Ukraine’s border, Biden has led NATO and other European allies in trying to craft what he calls “unprecedented” sanctions as a deterrent.
Now that negotiations have failed, they are likely to focus on hitting Russia’s already shaky economy hard.
“The United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and determined manner. The world will hold Russia accountable.”Biden said in his first remarks Wednesday night in Washington, after Russian missiles began raining down on Ukraine.
Biden also spoke by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelensky, saying he had promised to “provide support and help to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.”
The US president noted that Zelensky had asked him to “call on world leaders to speak out clearly” against Putin’s “blatant aggression.”
On Tuesday, after Putin first announced he would send troops as “peacekeepers” to two small areas already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists, Western countries sprang into action.
The US government has joined European allies in imposing sanctions on two Russian banks, Moscow’s sovereign debt and several oligarchs, among other measures.
And on Wednesday, as Russian troops were clearly poised to attack, Biden announced he would impose sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, which links Germany and energy-rich Russia.
Germany had announced that it would block the opening of the pipeline, which is still not working.
According to senior US officials, the new, tougher sanctions will include other larger banks, more oligarchs close to Putin and, most importantly, a ban on exports to Russia of high-tech equipment and components.
It is not clear how many of these measures will be announced on Thursday.
“No Russian financial institution is safe”State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday, hours before the invasion was launched.
Price claimed that two large Russian banks were in the crosshairs, both with “750 billion dollars in assets, half of the Russian banking system in total.”
Some measures risk bringing economic consequences to Western countries and could jeopardize the recovery of the world economy after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Stock markets are already falling and oil prices are soaring above $100 a barrel.
Among the most controversial sanctions would be a direct targeting of Putin, who is said to have amassed a vast fortune during his two decades at the helm of Russia.
Arguably the most significant sanction would be cutting Moscow off from the SWIFT international banking network. This would, at least for some time, cut Russia off from basic trade, greatly disrupting the economy, but would also have considerable potential repercussions on the wider US-led financial system.
Shortly after the Russian attacks began, US senators from both parties expressed support for a tough response.
“Tonight, the entire post-World War international order is on a knife edge. If Putin does not pay a devastating price for this transgression, our own security will soon be in jeopardy,” the Democratic senator said. Chris Murphy.
Another Democrat, Sen. Mark WarnerHe said that “now is the time for us to raise the level of pain against the Russian government.”
The Russians “will pay a heavy price for Putin’s reckless ambition, in blood and economic damage,” he said.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney warned against “the danger of once again looking away from Putin’s tyranny” and called for “tougher economic sanctions” and “throwing them out of global institutions.”
According to Biden, “President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.”
Source: Ambito
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