US President Joe Biden in a speech announced new sanctions aimed at crippling Russia’s economy in hopes of quelling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Putin will become a pariah on the international stage,” he promises.
Biden sat with his National Security Council today and participated in a video meeting with the leaders of the G7 countries.
Putin’s actions are part of his desire for a great Russian empire and have nothing to do with security concerns, Biden said after his meeting with the G7. “His actions betray a dark picture of the future of our world, one in which nations take by force what they want,” and he promises that the US and its allies will not let go of “this totally irresponsible war against Ukraine.” to happen.
Putin is the aggressor, Putin chose this war, and now he and his allies will suffer the consequences.
Biden regrets that the predicted invasion of Ukraine has come true. He points to Russian President Putin’s false claims that Ukraine was planning an attack on Russia and that it was committing genocide, without Putin providing any evidence. Putin is the aggressor, Putin chose this war, and now he and his allies will suffer the consequences.
Export Restrictions
Biden announces new sanctions, as well as restrictions on exports to Russia. “This will severely damage the Russian economy, both immediately and in the longer term,” the president said. The sanctions are designed to have a maximum impact on Russia and a minimum impact on the US and its allies, he emphasized. “We will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, pounds sterling, euros and yen,” Biden said.
Furthermore, the possibilities to finance and expand the Russian army are also restricted. After all, the joint measures taken by the US and its allies will cut Russia off from more than half of its high-tech imports. “That will be a serious blow to their ability to continue expanding the military and funding their space program, as well as to Putin’s long-term strategic ambitions,” it said.
The US president emphasizes that the US is taking these sanctions in consultation with other countries that together represent more than half of the world economy: he refers, among others, to the 27 Member States of the EU, as well as the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and New Zealand .
Sanctions against banks
On Wednesday, Washington already imposed sanctions on the company in charge of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in Russia. The day before, sanctions were announced against two major Russian financial institutions and Russian sovereign debt, as well as against some members of the Russian elite and their relatives. Those sanctions also came after consultations with the US’s Western allies. Biden points out that the impact of those sanctions was already clearly visible today. The ruble plummeted, as did the Russian stock market.
Today’s new sanctions target five additional Russian banks that together hold more than $1 trillion in assets, Biden said. This includes Russia’s largest bank, which itself owns more than a third of all Russian assets. “All their assets are being frozen and they are being cut off from the US financial system,” it said. The ban on access to the international payment system SWIFT, which was discussed earlier, will not come into effect for the time being, he clarifies.
Sanctions against Putin?
Sanctions will also follow against members of the Russian elite and their relatives for complicity in Putin’s actions. “They will share in the pain,” Biden says. In addition, sanctions will also be imposed against Russia’s largest state-owned companies in the course of the next few days.
Personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin are also currently on the table, Biden said in response to a question from a journalist. He does not say why they have not yet been announced.
Extra soldiers
In addition to economic sanctions, steps are being taken to protect NATO allies, Biden says, but he reiterates that no US troops will be deployed to Ukraine, and that those troops will merely defend NATO’s borders. “Our troops are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to protect our NATO allies and our allies in the East.” Biden announces that additional troops will be sent to Germany. According to the Pentagon, the number is 7,000.
Thousands of troops have already been moved from Germany and other NATO member states to allies on the borders with Ukraine and Russia to reinforce the eastern flank.
“NATO is more united and more determined than ever,” he says, referring to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against everyone. Tomorrow, NATO member states will meet again to discuss sanctions against Russia.
waning popularity
Biden, currently the face of the Western response to Russian aggression, is currently not doing very well in domestic polls: only 36 percent of the population is satisfied with the way he is handling the conflict with Russia. That’s roughly in line with his popularity: only 41 percent of Americans are satisfied with their president, according to a Gallup poll† Those results are according to CNN comparable to the findings of other opinion polls. Meanwhile, the US is also struggling with rising inflation, which could be exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict.
In the fall, midterm elections will be held in the US, and Democrats risk losing control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
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