The United States and Europe launch a battery of sanctions to stop the advance of Vladimir Putin on Ukraine
Biden, the European Union and Johnson announced the first retaliation against Russia for the advance of Russian troops in Donetsk and Lugansk; the bloc decided to sanction 27 Russian individuals and entities
The United States and its European allies deployed the first sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a last attempt to stop Moscow's offensive that unleashed the worst security crisis in Europe since the WWII.
The sanctions, announced by US President Joe Biden, the European Union and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, sought to inflict a high enough cost on Russia and the Russian political establishment to force Putin to back down, and prevent an all-out war in eastern Europe after he ordered the advance of Russian troops into two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk and Lugansk, which he recognized as "independent" republics. Washington, NATO and the European Union saw in this move the prelude to a total invasion.
Biden harshly attacked Putin's "outrageous" and "twisted" speech in a short, harsh message from the White House, announcing Washington's "first round" of sanctions on Moscow, including a crackdown on the Russian sovereign debt that will prevent Putin from accessing financing in the markets.
"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," Biden said.
“Who in the name of the Lord does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory belonging to his neighbors? It is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community,” the president continued.
Biden announced sanctions against two financial institutions and Russian sovereign debt, and anticipated that starting tomorrow he will impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs. He also authorized the sending of more soldiers and military equipment already in Europe to the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Biden made clear that the battery of sanctions will be expanded if Putin decides to move further on Ukraine, saying "the worst case scenario" can still be avoided.
“If Russia persists, Russia and Russia alone will be responsible,” he stated.
Far from a retreat, Putin gave clear signs that he plans to move forward. He recognized the borders claimed by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, dramatically expanding the possibility of a deeper invasion. And just as it did before the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Russian Senate on Tuesday agreed to Putin's request and authorized the use of military force abroad, a further step toward what European and US officials already see as a full Russian invasion of Ukraine from the breakaway regions of Donbass.
"Everything indicates that Russia continues to plan a large-scale attack against Ukraine," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, calling Putin's offensive on the Donbass region "the most dangerous moment" for security. in Europe in a generation.
For its part, Canada has also imposed economic sanctions against Russia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.
Clear signal to Moscow
The West's reaction to Putin's historic challenge began to unfold very early, hour after hour, from Berlin to London to Paris to Brussels and then to Washington, in a coordinated and calibrated response that sought to send a clear signal to Moscow in a timely manner. last attempt to dissuade Putin from ordering a major invasion, and leave an open window for a diplomatic solution, a scenario that already seems more like a utopia than a possibility.
The 27 countries of the European Union (EU) yesterday approved "unanimously" a "package of sanctions" against Russia after its decision to recognize the separatist territories of eastern Ukraine, during an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Paris .
"We agreed on a first package of sanctions," announced the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, after the meeting with his European peers.
"These sanctions will do a lot of damage to Russia," added the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
The bloc decided to sanction 27 Russian individuals and entities that had any role in violating Ukrainian integrity and hampering Russia's ability to access European capital markets and financial services, according to Borrell. The senior official added that European sanctions will fall on "Russian decision-makers and banks that finance operations in Ukraine." Le Drian specified for his part that the measures adopted constitute "only part" of the EU's reaction to the Russian actions
Shortly before the Paris meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blocked the approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The pipeline was a controversial project that had severely damaged relations between Ukraine and the European Union, whose economy depends on Russian gas. The United States opposed the project from the government of Barack Obama.
The suspension of the project is a blow to Russia, and drew a harsh response from Dimitri Medvedev: "Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans will very soon pay €2,000 for a thousand cubic meters of natural gas!" he tweeted. The decision takes away the millionaire business of the controversial gas pipeline built to bring Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea (see separate).
After that first reaction from Germany came the first announcement of sanctions from a European nation: the United Kingdom. Boris Johnson told the British Parliament that his government would impose sanctions on five banks and three Russian oligarchs, Igor and Boris Rotenberg, and Gennadiy Timchenko, who were already on Washington's “blacklist”. The sanctioned financial entities are Rossiya Bank, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and Black Sea Bank.
"It's the first stage, the first salvo that we're prepared to launch," Johnson said at the Commons. "We must prepare for a protracted crisis," he added.
Johnson's early moves were met with criticism from pundits and from both left and right of the British political spectrum, who saw them as too weak given the scale of Putin's challenge to the West and Germany's decision to deal a massive blow to the economy. Russia with the suspension of the approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Johnson said that London would impose much tougher sanctions if Putin extended his invasion of Ukraine.
British government sources said that despite Vladimir Putin's repeated statements downplaying Western sanctions, there has been frantic activity in London in recent days by Russian oligarchs to avoid being targeted by such measures. The City of London is, in effect, the favorite destination of the great Russian fortunes.
