Biden announces sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks
US President Joe Biden announced the US was ordering heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs on Tuesday, declaring that Moscow had flagrantly violated international law by invading Ukraine.
“None of us will be fooled” by Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims about Ukraine, the US President said in a live address from the East Room.
And he said more sanctions could be on the way if Putin proceeds further.
Biden said he was also moving additional American troops to the Baltic states on NATO’s eastern flank bordering Russia.
President Biden joined the 27 European Union members who unanimously agreed on Tuesday to levy their own initial set of sanctions targeting Russian officials over their actions in Ukraine.
Germany also announced it was halting the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia - a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow but criticized by the US for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy.
“None of us will be fooled” by Putin's claims about Ukraine, Biden said.
American sanctions outlined
In his White House speech on Tuesday, President Biden said the US would impose “full blocking” on two large Russian financial institutions and “comprehensive sanctions” on Russian debt.
“That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western finance,” Biden said. “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.”
The president announced what he called a first tranche of sanctions as Russian troops rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin said he was recognizing the areas' independence on Monday. It was unclear how large the Russian deployment was, and Ukraine and its Western allies have
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