President Joe Biden on Tuesday outlined the United States’ response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as the world prepares for a deadly military conflict that could destabilize Europe, shake the global economy and disrupt international security.
Biden announced the first round of financial sanctions and promised to pay a higher price if Russia continued its aggression.
“This is the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “We are ready to respond with unity, clarity and confidence.”
Biden said the first wave of U.S. sanctions included “joint sanctions” against Russia’s two largest financial institutions, as well as the country’s public debt.
“This means we are cutting off Western funding for the Russian government,” he said. “It can no longer raise funds from the West and cannot trade its new debt in our markets or in European markets.”
Biden said the United States would also impose sanctions on Russia’s elite and their families, which would take effect on Wednesday.
“They have the corrupt advantages of a common Kremlin policy, and they must also take part in the pain,” the president said.
Biden said he had allowed additional relocations to U.S. troops and equipment already in Europe to support America’s Baltic allies, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“We want to send a clear message that the United States and our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory,” Biden said.
The crisis is a major test for Biden, as he seeks to keep Europe’s allies united and to respond firmly to Putin’s attempt to take over his neighbor or part of it, essentially again at the end of the Cold War.
“This is not a time of delay,” said Alina Polakova, president and chief executive of the Washington Center for European Policy Analysis. “What the Russians have done has rewritten the rules of the European security system, and that would have global consequences.”
Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen said it was one of the most dangerous moments since World War II.
“I think we’re going through one of the most dangerous periods in our history, definitely since 1945,” Cohen told CNN. “The danger we face here is that as soon as we take a step and Putin responds, the cycle continues.”
Putin on Monday ordered the introduction of troops into two pro-Russian regions in eastern Ukraine, declaring “independence” from Ukraine and the need for military security.
Ben Rod, who was Deputy National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama, said Russia’s interest in isolated regions had always been linked to Ukraine’s political control.
“Another reason why this is only a preliminary step,” Rod wrote on a Twitter statement.
The move comes after weeks of unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to dispel months of disagreement between Moscow and NATO over Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Acting director William Pomeran on Monday called Putin’s recent actions, including an hour-long rhetorical speech, in which he wrongly claimed that Ukraine was simply the result of a break with Soviet power, closing the remaining diplomatic opportunities. , from the Cannon Institute at Wilson Center.
