laitimes

Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).

author:Ship diagram

Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #俄乌危机 #

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday (Feb. 22) cut off the Russian government's access to international financing and imposed sanctions on two large banks. Biden declared Russia's actions against Ukraine "flagrantly in violation of international law." As the region prepares for a possible confrontation with Russia, Biden also ordered the transfer of some U.S. Army forces and air support from elsewhere in Europe closer to Russia's borders.

Biden asked pointedly: "Who does Putin think can give him the right in the name of the Lord to declare two new states in the territory of his neighbors?" The U.S. leader said his sanctions would cut off Russia's source of "money from the West." He also vowed that if Russian forces invaded Ukraine further westward, Russia would "pay a greater price," that is, more severe sanctions.

The targets of sanctions announced Tuesday included three men in Putin's small circle: Federal Security Agency Director Alexander Boltnikov, senior official in Putin's office, Sergei Kiriyanko, and Promsviaz Bank Chairman Peter Vladkov. A senior administration official told reporters the sanctions hit two banks that are particularly close to the Russian leadership and control more than $50 billion in assets. One of the banks is the Foreign Economic Bank. Dalip Singh, deputy national security adviser on international economic affairs, described the bank as "the Kremlin's senior piggy bank." "Make no mistake — it's just a sharp blade that we can inflict pain," he said. ”

"The sanctions announced (Monday) will have little effect, both economically and politically," Chris Miller, an analyst in Russian affairs at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told the media. "The sanctions announced today, particularly sovereign debt sanctions, will have only minor, macroeconomic negative effects on Russia."

Biden said the U.S. troop mobilization in Europe was not intended to be "at war with Russia." But he said Putin called the troop dispatch operation inside the former Soviet republic of Ukraine "peacekeeping, for which "none of us will be fooled, none of us will be fooled." On Tuesday, Biden also met with Ukraine's foreign minister at the White House. Biden, the White House said, "reaffirms the readiness of the United States to work closely with our allies and partners to respond quickly and decisively to any Russian aggression against Ukraine." Speaking in the Kremlin on Monday, Putin declared that Ukraine has never been an independent state, but part of Greater Russia's sphere of influence and not a "puppet" of the West.

Biden said of Putin: "He directly attacked Ukraine's right to exist." He added that a diplomatic solution to the crisis "still has time to avoid the worst possible [of a full-scale invasion]. However, Biden concluded: "We will judge Russia by its actions, not words." Biden warned Americans that "defending freedom will come at a cost, and that as violence inside Ukraine intensifies and Russia expands its invasion, global oil prices will soar, and the price of gasoline paid by Americans will rise with it." As Biden implemented sanctions that he had already promised, other Western allies quickly announced their sanctions to Russia on Tuesday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stopped the certification of Nord Stream II. The gas pipeline from Russia via the Baltic Seabed has been laid but has not yet been put into operation. The German government's move, which at least suspended the delivery of fuel to Germany, also deprived Moscow of its source of revenue. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament he sanctioned five Russian banks and three "high net worth" executives, freezing their assets in Britain and cutting off financial transactions with them. Johnson said: "This is the first batch, the first wave that we are ready. ”

On Tuesday, Russian lawmakers approved Putin's use of military power abroad, potentially giving the green light to a larger offensive against Ukraine. Eu foreign policy chief José Borelli said that in Donetsk and Luhansk, "Russian forces are currently in The territory of Ukraine", but this is not a "full-scale invasion".

For weeks, the United States and European allies have warned of swift and serious consequences if Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine. For some time, Russia has deployed 150,000 troops and weapons in the Russian-Ukrainian border and in Belarus, a Russian ally north of Ukraine, and there have been fears that Russian forces will attack Ukraine.

Western diplomats and Donetsk residents confirmed to the media that Russian tanks entered the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine at night. Whether their presence constitutes a major Russian operation, or whether this is just a Movement of Russian-backed militias already in the Eastern Region, is unclear. On Monday, Biden announced the first sanctions after Putin announced his recognition of the independence of the two separated regions of Eastern Ukraine and ordered the dispatch of Russian troops to carry out what he called a "peacekeeping" mission.

A senior biden administration official told reporters that the first round of sanctions was a concrete measure directly related to Putin's move on Monday and did not represent "a swift and severe economic measure that we have been preparing in coordination with allies and partners if Russia invades Ukraine further." Biden issued an order Monday banning new investment, trade and financial exchanges with Putin's declared independence of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Putin gave nearly an hour of televised remarks to the Russian people Monday from a table in the Kremlin, sketching out his version of Europe's historical borders and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Putin said the "prospects for a peaceful end to the conflict" in eastern Ukraine are invisible, but Moscow claims there are no plans to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"This is not just a speech about Russian security," said a senior official in the U.S. administration. "This is an attack on the fundamental vision of Ukraine's sovereignty and independence. He (Putin) made it clear that Ukraine was historically part of Russia. He also made some false claims about the Ukraine controversy, seemingly to justify possible military action. It was to address the Russian people and find a justification for the war. ”

Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).
Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).
Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).
Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).
Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).
Biden cut off Russia's international financing channels and transferred U.S. troops to the Russian border #Russia-Ukraine crisis #US President Joe Biden cut off the Russian government's international financing on Tuesday (February 22).

Read on