U.S. President, Joe Biden, has pledged to announce new sanctions to punish Russia for the aggression against Ukraine that international community has expected for weeks but could not prevent through diplomacy.
Biden had on Tuesday announced first tranche of sanctions on Russia, following its decision to recognise the independence of certain areas of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Russian troops launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine on Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin cast aside international condemnation and sanctions.
Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen.”
Biden, in a written statement, condemned the “unprovoked and unjustified attack,” and he promised that the U.S. and its allies would “hold Russia accountable.”
“I will be meeting with the Leaders of the G7, and the United States and our Allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia.
“We will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,” he assured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on phone.
The president said he planned to speak to Americans on Thursday after a meeting of the Group of Seven leaders. More sanctions against Russia were expected to be announced Thursday.
“Tomorrow (Thursday), I will meet with my G7 counterparts in the morning and then speak to the American people to announce the further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia for this needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security.
“We will also coordinate with our NATO Allies to ensure a strong, united response that deters any aggression against the Alliance,” he said.
The U.S. leader expressed solidarity with the people of Ukraine, saying, “the prayers of the entire world are with you as you suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces.
“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.
“Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way.
“The world will hold Russia accountable,” he said.