« Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences, » Mr. Biden said. »
President Biden on Thursday declared Russia’s a « premeditated attack » and announced the U.S. and Western allies will impose on Russia in response to its incursion. « Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences, » Mr. Biden said during remarks at the White House, hours after the Russian assault on Ukraine began. The president announced the U.S. will impose sanctions on four of Russia’s largest banks, in addition to two financial institutions the U.S. sanctioned earlier this week, meaning « every asset they have in America will be frozen, » he said. The U.S. and Western allies are also imposing new export controls, which Mr. Biden said will block more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports and strike a blow to Moscow’s military and technological capabilities. « We will limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen to be part of the global economy, we’re going to limit their ability to do that, » the president said. « We’re going to stunt the ability to finance and grow the Russian military, and we’re going to impair their ability to compete in the high-tech 21st century economy.
