U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the American people from the East Room of the White House on Thursday, saying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is motivated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “desire for empire by any means necessary.”
“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said before announcing a series of sanctions on Russian financial institutions, oligarchs, and technology exports.
Biden said four more Russian banks are being sanctioned. “That means every asset they have in America will be frozen,” Biden explained. Russia’s largest bank was subjected to American sanctions earlier this week. Biden said trillions of dollars of Russian assets are now frozen.
The sanctions, Biden asserted, will prevent the Russian military from growing and hurt the economic interests of Putin’s wealthiest allies.
Bloomberg adds:
The U.S. is implementing export controls designed to cut Russia off from semiconductors and other advanced technology crucial to the military, biotechnology, and aerospace industries. Rules allow the U.S. to restrict exports to Russia from anywhere in the world using American technology, including software.
“Putin’s aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly economically and strategically,” Biden said, later adding “Putin’s choice to make a totally unjustifiable war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.”
Biden stopped short of sanctioning Putin directly or cutting Russia off from the SWIFT payment system, which connects the world’s banks and financial institutions. He said those two options remain on the table.
Biden cautioned that the effects of the sanctions issued Thursday are “going to take time” to show results, but said he has the full support of Western leaders. When a reporter asked Biden about China’s stance on the invasion, he deflected.
Biden said there is a “total rupture” in America’s relations with Russia and indicated that he had no plans to talk with Putin. Biden warned that the Russian president “has much larger ambitions than Ukraine. He wants to, in fact, reestablish the former Soviet Union. That’s what this is about. And I think that his ambitions are completely contrary to the place where the rest of the world has arrived.”
Biden reiterated that U.S. troops would not be sent to Ukraine to assist in the nation’s defense, but said “the United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power.”
A NATO summit is scheduled for Friday. “We’ll be there to bring together the leaders of 30 allied nations and close partners to affirm our solidarity and to map out the next steps we will take to further strengthen all aspects of our NATO alliance,” Biden said.
Biden said he authorized “deployment of ground and air forces stationed in Europe to the eastern flank” and also is authorizing “additional US force capabilities to deploy to Germany as part of NATO’s response.”
Biden indicated that Americans might feel short-term economic pain related to the attack, but explained “America stands up to bullies That’s who we are.”
