Ukraine-Biden announces sanctions against Russian banks and elites | Photo credits: US Government Works
WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a “first tranche” of sanctions against Russia for what he described as the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and promised action. more severe if Moscow continues its incursion into the country, without however excluding a diplomatic outcome.
He made this statement the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to recognize the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and to send soldiers there for an operation described by Moscow as “peacekeeping”. Read full story
Speaking at a White House press conference, Joe Biden said the US sanctions targeted two major Russian financial institutions and sovereign debt, adding that it meant the Russian government was cut off from all Western funding.
Starting Wednesday, he added, sanctions will hit Russian elites and their family members.
“This is the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the US president said. “Russia has now made undeniable progress in Ukraine by declaring the independence” of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
Washington has been warning Moscow for several weeks that it would take sanctions on an unprecedented scale in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“As Russia considers its next steps, we too have our next steps ready. Russia will pay an even greater price if it continues its aggression, including with additional sanctions,” Biden said.
(Report Jeff Mason, Alexandra Alper, Doina Chiacu, Jarrett Renshaw; French version Jean Terzian)