(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden announced he would impose “severe sanctions” on Russia after Vladimir Putin ordered a military assault on Ukraine, which Biden condemned as an “unprovoked and unjustified attack.”
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“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” the American president said in a statement late Wednesday. “The United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way.” Russian forces attacked targets across Ukraine after Putin ordered the operation. Ukraine’s foreign minister described it as a “full-scale invasion” beyond areas held by pro-Russian separatists. Biden said he would outline the punishments in an address to the American people on Thursday, after discussing the unfolding crisis with other Group of Seven leaders in the morning. Administration officials on Wednesday night were still deciding what the next round of penalties would look like, according to a White House official. In another statement released by the White House early Thursday, he said vowed that the U.S. and its allies would “be imposing severe sanctions on Russia.” Biden said in that statement he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy by telephone and “he asked me to call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin’s flagrant aggression, and to stand with the people of Ukraine.” Biden also said that he had briefed the Ukrainian leader “on the steps we are taking to rally international condemnation.” Zelenskiy said in a speech to his nation on Thursday morning that, “the U.S. has started to prepare international support.” He imposed martial law across the country, as his government warned Russian forces were attacking cities and urged citizens to hide in shelters to avoid missile attacks on Kyiv. Earlier Wednesday, the White House sanctioned the builder of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and its corporate leadership. That came on top of a sanctions package announced Tuesday following Putin’s recognition of breakaway territories in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine as independent states. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki earlier Wednesday did not rule out sanctions on Putin himself or a broader set of Russian oligarchs or financial institutions. Putin announced in a televised speech early Thursday that he had decided to order a “special military operation” to “protect” Donbas, saying the U.S. had crossed the Kremlin’s “red line” by expanding NATO in Eastern Europe. In the speech, Putin said Russia didn’t plan to occupy Ukraine but accused the U.S. of refusing to negotiate on Russia’s security demands. Zelenskiy said “Russia attacked our military infrastructure and our border guarders” and urged people to stay calm and stay at home if possible. “We are working. The army is working.” Biden said he would coordinate with NATO allies “to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the alliance.” The U.S. earlier this month sent 3,000 troops to central Europe but the White House has said it has no intention to deploy them in Ukraine. News of Putin’s move came as the UN Security Council was meeting in emergency session on the crisis. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the council would vote on a resolution condemning Moscow’s actions on Thursday. As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia can veto that resolution. NN: Now come the global tizzy fit. All of a sudden Ukraine is important… REALLY? Well they never let them in the European Union. They have been trying to get into NATO for a decade…… What exactly comes from the Ukraine other then internet brides…. Still i do not see the US or NATO rushing in troops….. They were never a democracy corruption is their middle name. This will soon blow over. The real deal here is Europe gets half its energy from Russia as they tried to create their grenniewinnie wet dream. Sanctions? do make me laugh. Their is no replacement for Russia oil and gas…… In other words Europe has fucked themselves again.