A senior official of the Biden administration accused Russia of beginning an invasion of Ukraine based on Moscow's recent military activities.
In an interview with CNN, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said the White House considers that recent movements of Russian troops into the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, both governed by Moscow-backed forces-- as "the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine."
Finer commented that Russia "has been invading Ukraine since 2014" when it seized the Crimean peninsula. When asked whether Russia's actions were an invasion or just a start of a resumed attack on Ukraine, the official said he does not know how to be "much more clear" on the matter. "This is the beginning of an invasion," he noted.
He remarked, however, that some members of the Biden administration have been reluctant to use the term invasion, per Politico.
US Expands Sanctions on Russia
On Monday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order extending the sanctions imposed against Russia in 2014 in response to Putin's decision to recognize the Luhansk and Donetsk regions' independence formally.
The current sanctions imposed by the United States ban new US business in the breakaway territories, foreign trade from the regions, as well as financial and property dealings as assessed by the Treasury Department.
On Tuesday, Finer hinted that the US might soon announce imposing further economic sanctions against Russia.
As tensions along the Ukrainian border continue to escalate, the country's economic stability weakens as businesses face the challenge of predicting the events in the coming days.
Ukraine Suffers From Hybrid Attack
According to a report by the Associated Press, Ukraine's economy is suffering more compared to Russia amid the conflict between the two nations that has been going on for years.
Andrey Stavinster, CEO of port operations company TIS Group, wonders why Ukraine is "suffering consequences already" though Russia is the one who is "actually threatening the whole world, in Europe" and the sanctions imposed on Moscow.
Experts describe the squeezing Ukraine's economy to ruin the country from within as "hybrid warfare," which is a critical destabilizing strategy.
Aside from amassing around 150,000 Russian troops around its borders, Ukraine is also facing the threats of cyberattacks and separatist groups, both backed by Moscow, which affect the economic performance of the Eastern European country.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine announced in late January that $12.5 billion had been withdrawn from bank accounts in the country. He encouraged members of parliament and businessmen who had left to return.
Last week, over 20 charter and private jets flew out of Kyiv, transporting some of the country's most influential businessmen.
According to Volodymyr Sidenko, an analyst with the Razumkov Center, businesses in the country are becoming "more nervous" when the government tells them "not to panic."
Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Germany, Europe's largest economy, recognized the "very real effects" of the constant threat against Ukraine on economic activities. She mentioned that the Group of Seven ministers has pledged to assist Ukraine to help stabilize its economy.
The US and the European Parliament offered Ukraine loans of $1 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively, to address its financing needs.
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