President Joe Biden claimed Russia's latest measures amounted to "the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," announced more penalties, and said he would send more US soldiers to the region on Tuesday.
The president said the sanctions would target significant Russian banks, Russia's sovereign debt, and, beginning Wednesday, the Russian elite and their family, and he warned to impose more if Russian President Vladimir Putin took even more severe measures.
Biden Hits Russia With Sanctions
Putin was "building up a justification to grab additional land by force" by sending Russian forces into two Russian-backed rebel enclaves in eastern Ukraine, according to Biden. Biden stated, "full blocking measures" will be imposed on two significant Russian financial institutions, as well as comprehensive penalties on Russia's sovereign debt, calling the Russian actions "a blatant breach of international law" that requires a strong reaction from the international community.
While the European Union and NATO have both said that Russia had sent forces into Ukraine, Biden stopped short of confirming this. Rather, the focus should be on Russia's recognition of the independence of two breakaway Ukrainian regions already under the hands of pro-Russian rebels.
His words came after nearly a day of verbal gymnastics on how the US would define and react to Putin's actions, ABC News reported.
Meanwhile, an infantry battalion task group of 800 US troops will depart from Italy for the Baltic region. Additionally, up to eight F-35 fighter planes will be deployed from Germany to NATO's eastern flank, 20 Apache helicopters will be deployed from Germany to the Baltic area, and 12 Apache helicopters will be deployed from Greece to Poland.
In a fast-moving crisis, the Russian senate previously granted President Putin authority to employ armed forces outside of Russia, raising the possibility of a larger strike on Ukraine. On Monday, Moscow recognized the independence of the rebel-controlled Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine, which are backed by Russia.
Putin has set three requirements for the issue to be resolved. He demanded that Crimea be recognized as part of Russia by the international community, that Ukraine's NATO membership aspiration be dropped, and that military supplies to the country be halted. The West has criticized the takeover of Crimea in 2014 as a breach of international law but has opposed a permanent ban on Ukraine joining NATO.
Boris Johnson said earlier on Tuesday that the UK was penalizing five Russian private banks and three billionaires, freezing their UK assets and prohibiting their entry to the UK. In reaction to Russian forces advancing into two separatist territories in eastern Ukraine, Prime Minister David Cameron warned the House of Commons that this was the "first tranche" and "first volley" of actions, according to Sky News.
Russia Pushes Into Ukraine
Biden's remarks appeared to keep some of the most sweeping and severe punishments under consideration by the US in reserve. These include an export restriction that would prevent Russia from accessing US high-tech for its industries and military, as well as broader financial sanctions that might stifle Russia's capacity to conduct business internationally.
Denis Bortnikov, the vice president of Russia's state-owned VTB Bank, and Petr Fradkov, the chairman and CEO of PSB, are among the billionaires and others close to Putin who have been singled out for sanctions.
The father of the VTB official, Aleksandr Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service and a permanent member of the Russian Federation's Security Council, was also named in the sanctions lists. Mikhail Fradkov, a former Russian prime minister and former director of Russia's foreign intelligence organization, is Fradkov's father.
Putin's first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko, and his son Vladimir Kiriyenko, the CEO of the parent business of Russia's most popular social media site, VKontakte, were also named.
The chances of a big confrontation being avoided are diminishing. Putin's decree came only hours after recognizing two Ukrainian separatist areas as autonomous, establishing Russian military backing and enraging Western leaders who saw his actions as violations of international law.
Putin has attributed the present situation to NATO, describing the US-led organization as a danger to Russia. The international criticism came as clashes erupted in Ukraine's eastern regions, which Western nations fear Russia may exploit as a pretext for an invasion on the Europe-leaning democracy that has defied Moscow's efforts to entice it back into its orbit.
The US has warned that Moscow has already chosen to invade, with an estimated 150,000 Russian troops stationed on three flanks of Ukraine. Nonetheless, in a last-ditch effort to prevent conflict, Biden and Putin provisionally agreed to meet, mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron, as per CTV News.
