President Biden said Tuesday he has ordered the first round of economic sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs in retaliation for Moscow’s military “invasion” of Ukraine, and he warned of further sanctions.
The president said he will impose penalties “far beyond” the sanctions levied in 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.
“If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions,” the president said.
Mr. Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “bizarrely” claimed that two regions of Ukraine were no longer part of that country.
“Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belongs to his neighbors?” Mr. Biden said. “He’s setting up a rationale to take more territory by force. … This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
Speaking at the White House, Mr. Biden said Russia‘s declaration that two regions of eastern Ukraine are independent is “a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.”
“I have authorized additional movements of U.S. forces and equipment already stationed in Europe,” Mr. Biden said. “We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack against Ukraine.”
The remarks, Mr. Biden’s third on Ukraine in less than a week, indicate a decisive shift in the administration’s posture toward Mr. Putin.
On Monday, the administration had shied away from using that term to describe Mr. Putin’s decision to send troops into two Russian-backed separatists regions in eastern Ukraine
It also came just hours after Russia’s parliament voted Tuesday to give Mr. Putin broad authority to deploy troops abroad.
The sanctions, which are the first imposed by the U.S., include prohibiting business activity with two large Russian financial institutions, VEB and its military bank.
The sanctions prohibit American financial institutions from processing transactions for VEB and the military bank. This effectively cuts the banks out of transactions involving the U.S. dollar, the global reserve currency.
In 2014, the U.S. slapped sanctions on VEB restricting U.S. individuals and companies from doing business with the bank. During the first year, the bank suffered massive losses leading to a multi-billion bailout from the Russian government. The U.S. Treasury Department lifted the sanctions in 2019.
Mr. Biden also said Russia’s government would be blocked from accessing Western financing to service the country’s debt. That means it can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade on its new debt in U.S. and European markets.
The U.S. will also impose sanctions on Russian elites and their family members, Mr. Biden said.
“These [sanctions] have been closely coordinated with our allies and partners, and we will continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates,” Mr. Biden said.
The sanctions raised the stakes for Mr. Putin, but are not the most severe economic sanctions the U.S. could impose. Mr. Biden appears to be saving those sanctions — which include penalizing Mr. Putin’s inner circle and family members — should Mr. Putin launch the violent and deadly attack on Ukraine that U.S. officials have been warning about.
The president said his administration is working to ensure Americans are not impacted by the sanctions levied against Russia. He said the administration would monitor energy supplies for any disruption and take steps to blunt rising gas prices.
Mr. Biden added that the window to diplomacy remains open, even while labeling Russia as “the aggressor against Ukraine.”
“We are clear-eyed about the challenges we are facing, nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst-case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people,” he said.
Mr. Biden announced he has authorized the movement of additional U.S. forces and military equipment in Europe to strengthen Eastern European allies. He said the moves were “totally defensive,” adding that the U.S. has “no intention of fighting Russia.”
Pressure is also mounting from both Republicans and Democrats to swiftly impose severe economic sanctions on Russia.
The Biden administration has threatened for weeks to penalize Russia if Mr. Putin decided to invade Ukraine, but has also argued the sanctions should work as deterrents.
That explanation hasn’t been enough to satisfy both parties in Congress, who say Mr. Biden should have issued the sanctions before Russia attacked. They say Russia should have already been penalized for carrying out cyberattacks against Ukraine and arming rebels in separatist areas of Eastern Ukraine.
On Monday, Mr. Biden signed an executive order banning U.S. companies and individuals from investing, trading, or financing in two territories in Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.
The move was far from the “swift and severe” sanctions the U.S. has threatened for weeks.
While Washington awaits Moscow’s next move, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other NATO members responded with a slew of new economic sanctions and other punitive measures aimed at preventing a Russian attack on Ukraine.
Germany, for example, said Tuesday it was halting certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a move the U.S. had been calling for as Russia escalated tensions.
The $11 billion pipeline was completed in September but has not been certified by German regulators. It will flow gas through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, a project both countries had strongly pushed to complete.
The United Kingdom on Tuesday slapped sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Mr. Putin’s decision to recognize the separatist territories was “establishing the pretext for full-scale invasion” of Ukraine.
Source:Washington Times
