Europe at War: Russia invaded Ukraine this morning as part of a “special military operation” in the Donabas region of eastern Ukraine and launched a general offensive against the country. After many condemnations from Western countries, US President Joe Biden spoke today (Thursday) in the White House, attacking Russian President Vladimir Putin: “He has chosen the war and will now bear the consequences.” Biden went on to declare severe sanctions on Russia: “They It will be devastating for the economy. “
Biden announced that the U.S. would impose sanctions on four of Russia’s largest banks, in addition to two financial institutions that were sanctioned earlier this week. He said that “any asset they have in the U.S. will be frozen.” The president added that allies in the West would soon impose similar restrictions, thus “eliminating more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports and technology which would cause a decisive blow to its military capabilities”.
“The Russian stock market has plummeted,” Biden said. “We will impose sanctions on the assets of Russian banks in the United States, as well as on the four largest banks in Russia. “Among them, his VTB bank also has assets worth $ 250 billion on US soil. We will also impose sanctions on the Russian elite and against the corrupt billionaires. We will cut Russia’s technological exports and thus severely damage their ability to become a modern country including their space program,” he added.
He later called for military action on Ukrainian soil, saying “the Russian military launched an offensive without any justification. Putin announced this months in advance, sending 175,000 troops, ammunition and military hospitals near the border. He rejected offers from the United States and refused. Commit to it in order to avoid dialogue. For weeks we warned that this would be the case, and it happened as we said. “
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“We saw in Moscow ridiculous plays and allegations that Ukraine would attack and use chemical weapons without any proof. Putin is now trying to create two republics on Ukrainian soil. Putin declared war and within moments began attacking from the air and land using tanks.”
The US president has stated that NATO will convene a summit on Friday with the participation of the leaders of the 30 countries to map out the next steps. Biden also condemned what he called an “unjust attack” on Ukraine and accused Putin of “a planned war that would lead to the loss of life and human suffering.”
Biden added: “I spoke to Zalanski and promised him that the United States would protect Ukraine. History shows that in the end, such actions, like those of the Russians, do not succeed and reach a dead end. Ukraine has 30 years of independence, and they are not ready to give up their country. This is a dangerous day for the whole of Europe, now the whole world clearly sees that Putin and his criminal allies never meant peace and security. “Putin’s aggression against Ukraine will cost Russia severely.”