US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, saying Russian leader Vladimir Putin “chose this war” and his country would bear the consequences.
The sanctions target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, Biden said.
The United States and its allies will block the assets of four big Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction the oligarchs.
Biden had announced the first tranche of sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, following his decision to recognize the independence of certain areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
The president announced the sanctions at the White House, while the Ukrainian government reported mounting casualties caused by attacks from the east, north and south.
“The sanctions measures impose severe costs on Russia’s largest official institutions and will further isolate Russia from the global official system.
“With today’s official sanctions, we have now targeted the ten largest official institutions in Russia, including the imposition of total blocking sanctions and correspondent and payable accounts, and debt and equity restrictions, on institutions that own nearly 80 percent of the Russian banking sector. assets.
“Unprecedented export control measures will eliminate more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports, restricting Russia’s access to vital technological inputs, stunting its industrial base and undermining Russia’s strategic ambitions to exert influence on the global stage. worldwide,” he said.
According to him, the impact of these measures will be significantly magnified due to historic multilateral cooperation with a wide range of Allies and partners that are mirroring our actions, inhibiting Putin’s ambition to diversify Russia’s fragile and one-dimensional economy.
“The scale of Putin’s aggression and the threat it poses to the international order require a resolute response, and we will continue to impose severe costs if he does not change course.”
The US leader said Russia’s economy had already faced intensifying pressure in recent weeks, noting that its stock market sank to its lowest level in four-and-a-half years earlier today.
With these tough new measures, he said these pressures would further build up and stifle Russia’s economic growth, increase its borrowing costs, push up inflation, intensify capital outflows and erode its industrial base.
“The United States and our allies and partners are united and will continue to impose costs, forcing Putin to look to other countries that cannot replicate the official and technological strengths of Western markets.”
He said the United States would deploy additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO after the invasion of Ukraine, which is not a member of the defense organization. Approximately 7,000 additional US troops will be sent.
Biden said that Putin’s threatening actions and now his unprovoked aggression toward Ukraine were being met with an unprecedented level of multilateral cooperation.
He said the United States welcomed commitments from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“They would also take similar forceful steps to hold Russia accountable, demonstrating the strength of our partnerships and deepening the impact on Russia more than any action we could have taken alone.
“This follows our joint action earlier this week to impose a first tranche of severe sanctions on Russia,” he said.
Biden spoke hours after holding a virtual meeting with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Italy and Japan.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also joined the meeting.
The president also met with his national security team in the White House Situation Room as he sought to flesh out America’s moves in the rapidly escalating crisis.
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