Republicans Claim Ukraine Invasion Is Joe Biden's Fault and Isn't Putin's; GOP Seek Answer How 23,000 Americans Will Be Evacuated

On Thursday, partisan wrangling in the US Congress continued unabated, with some Republicans blasting Democratic President Joe Biden's handling of the issue and urging him to "alter course" in his reaction.

Some Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives accused Biden of failing to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from deploying troops into Ukraine and urged him to take a firmer stance on the continent's worst battle since World War II.

Republicans Criticize Biden

The Russian invasion of Ukraine came after months of Russian military buildup around the country's borders, prompting frenzied diplomacy and sanctions from the US and NATO, which failed to stop the assault. At 12:30 pm EST, Biden will deliver a national speech. The objections weakened the maxim that party politics should end at the water's edge, which Republicans advocated for at the start of the Cold War in the late 1940s.

As lawmakers prepare for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the Republican response largely mirrored the sentiments of Republican voters, who blamed Biden, called for stronger sanctions, and warned against any use of US troops in Ukraine, Reuters via MSN reported.

GOPs Worry about Americans Stuck in War-Torn Ukraine

Republicans are pressing President Biden for answers on what he plans to do to assist the estimated 23,000 Americans still trapped in Ukraine's war-torn country. If conflict breaks out, Biden said, the State Department would not rescue any US citizens or green-card holders who are still in the country. Many Americans are informed they must travel to the borders of neighboring nations Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, and Hungary on their own; but many are unable to do so.

Thousands of people are attempting to exit Ukraine in buses, trains, and automobiles. There are long lineups for fuel at every gas station, and banks are restricting how much cash individuals can withdraw. Former military members are assisting individuals in escaping on buses off the books, but there is still an unknown number of people on the ground in need of assistance.

Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn, both Republicans, issued a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and State Secretary Blinken on Thursday requesting answers. They referenced the bungled US departure from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 US troops, and demanded to know what the administration had planned to avoid a repeat of that calamity in Ukraine.

When Biden spoke on Thursday, he made no promises or offers of assistance to Americans stuck in Ukraine. To hit Putin where it hurts, Obama vowed the US will impose tough penalties on Russia, targeting its billionaires residing abroad and its banks. During the briefing, Biden confessed that he did not believe the penalties, which he and other Western countries had been threatening for months, would have any effect on Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Daily Mail.

President Biden condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as "unjustified" as he announced new sanctions and export restrictions against Moscow on Thursday - but he declined to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin personally, admitting that America's allies were opposed to Russia being kicked out of a key global banking system.

As a recent report revealed US authorities worry Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, may not hold out beyond this weekend, an enraged Biden dubbed Putin "the aggressor" in Europe's deadliest crisis since World War II and said that "he wants to re-establish the former Soviet Union."

After an hour-long call with other G7 leaders, Biden announced penalties on four major Russian banks, including the country's two largest, Sberbank and VTB Bank, as well as many billionaires and some high-tech US exports to Russia. However, Biden subsequently admitted to reporters that European leaders, whom he did not name, had balked at limiting Russian access to SWIFT, the worldwide payment system that facilitates global financial transactions, as per New York Post.