On Thursday, the United States President Biden imposed new economic sanctions and export limits on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. President Biden delivered “remarks on Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine.”
Biden imposes new economic sanctions against Russia
“The Russian military has begun a brutal assault on the people of Ukraine without provocation, without justification, without necessity,” Biden said. “Russian President Vladimir Putin “chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences,” he added.
President Joe Biden said new sanctions against Russia would cut off major Russian financial institutions and companies from Western financial systems, as well as limit the export of technology to Russia, an act that hits at the country’s military and aerospace sectors.
Biden said that international leaders are working together to impose significant costs on Russia.
Biden:
“We have purposely designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies. I want to be clear, the United States is not doing this alone. For months, we’ve been building a coalition of partners representing well more than half the global economy.”
Russia-Ukraine conflict summary
Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border has exacerbated tensions between the two countries and strained bilateral ties during 2021-22, with the United States delivering a strong message that an invasion would be met with severe consequences for Russia’s economy.
Tensions had been increasing for months, epitomized by Putin’s furious diatribes and the buildup of Russian forces along Ukraine’s borders. Leaders in Washington and across Europe attempted to come to a peaceful solution, but they were unable to do so.
Ukraine gained its independence in 1991, after being part of the Soviet Union for most of the 20th century. Since then, Ukraine has been cultivating greater ties with Western European nations and the United States.
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military operation” against Ukraine. Explosions were reported in numerous cities, including Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, and Kyiv, the country’s capital.
“I believe it is necessary to take a long-overdue decision, to immediately recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic”
– Vladimir Putin
Analysts believe that this could be the start of a larger conflict in Ukraine, and many officials are labeling the action an assault on Ukraine’s independence.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s officials claimed that Russian forces took control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, according to the AP. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s actions were a “declaration of war” on Europe as a whole.
The latest sanctions, which are intended to increase the pressure on the Kremlin and its allies, build on previous economic penalties Biden announced last week aimed at Russian banks including the military bank.
Ukraine population
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest country in Europe by size, after Russia, which borders to the east and northeast. The current population of Ukraine is 43,301,680 as of Thursday, February 24, 2022.
