President Joe Biden of the United States has announced new sanctions against Russia, as he vows to impose a ‘severe cost’ on the country for invading Ukraine.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday, February 24, Biden voiced support for Ukraine and said the sanctions package will limit international trade with Moscow and penalise Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
According to the president, “Putin is the aggr#ssor; Putin chose this w#r, and now he and his country will bear the consequences. Today, I’m authorizing additional strong sanctions, and new limitations on what can be exported to Russia. This is going to impose a severe cost on the Russian economy both immediately and over time.
I just spoke with the G-7 leaders this morning, and we’re in full and total agreement: We will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen to be part of the global economy. We’ll limit their ability to do that.”
The sanctions target five major Russian banks that hold more than $1 trillion in assets, including the country’s largest bank, Sberbank, as well as members of the Russian elite and their families.
“That means every asset they have in America will be frozen,” the US president said. “We will keep up this drumbeat of those designations against corrupt billionaires in the days ahead,” he pledged.
