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| Photo Credit: AP. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and its allies hit back at Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Friday, slapping sanctions on more than 1,000 people and companies including arms supply networks as President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin he can’t “get away with” seizing Ukrainian land.
The Russian
annexation, though expected, escalated an already heated conflict that’s become
fraught with potential nuclear implications.
Biden said
his administration would support any effort by Ukraine to retake the annexed
territories by force, setting the stage for further hostilities. And Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country would make an
“accelerated” bid to join the NATO military alliance, a plan not endorsed by
the U.S. or other allies that could add fuel to the fire.
“America and
its allies are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and
threats,” Biden told reporters. He added that Putin “can’t seize his neighbor’s
territory and get away with it.”
Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia is incorporating four
Ukrainian cities and areas was not unexpected following referendums this week
that the West had denounced as shams. And the U.S. and Western allies had
previewed what their reaction would be.
But the
developments dramatically increased tensions to a point not seen since the
Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago during the Cold War.
Biden had
spoken out against the annexation plans last week at the U.N. General Assembly,
where a vast majority of other members also voiced support for respecting the
territorial integrity of all nations On Friday, he also used the moment to
reiterate that the U.S. and NATO allies would not allow Russia to attack any of
the nearby NATO members without facing a strong military response.
“America is
fully prepared, prepared with our NATO allies to defend every single inch of
NATO territory. Every single inch,” Biden said. “And so, Mr. Putin, don’t
misunderstand what I’m saying. Every inch.”
While the
Biden administration has identified the suppliers of Russia’s weapons and
battlefield high-tech as a priority, many of Friday’s other sanctions were in
line with penalties already enacted on thousands of Russian individuals and
companies, and may have comparatively little impact on the war effort. The
administration hopes they will serve to further undermine support for Putin’s
invasion among Russia’s elite.
Meanwhile,
the U.S. and its European allies are rushing to complete agreement on a measure
they hope will do more to damage Russia’s economy: a cap on Russia’s maritime
oil exports that would undermine the prices Putin can demand for his country’s
oil globally.
For now,
Biden said the new U.S. financial penalties, similar to those coming from
like-minded countries, will impose severe costs on people and companies “that
provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status
of Ukrainian territory.” The sanctions will apply to countries, people or firms
that support or do business with Russia-backed authorities in the newly annexed
areas.
Secretary of
State Antony Blinken, echoing Biden, said the U.S. “unequivocally rejects
Russia’s fraudulent attempt to change Ukraine’s internationally recognized
borders. ... This is a clear violation of international law and the United
Nations Charter.”
“No one is
fooled by what Moscow has done,” Blinken told reporters at a joint news
conference with Canada’s visiting foreign minister. “The entire process around
these sham referenda was a complete farce. This territory is and will remain
Ukraine, and Ukraine has every right to defend its land, to defend its people
and to take back the territory that Russia has seized from it.”
This
suggests the U.S. will support the Ukrainians with weapons and ammunition to
help them with military action to retake the annexed areas. The U.S. has warned
Ukraine in the past not to use American weapons against Russian territory.
Blinken also
spoke out against Putin’s nuclear threats..
“This kind
of loose talk about nuclear weapons is the height of irresponsibility, and it’s
something that we take very seriously,” he said. “To date” he said, the U.S.
has not seen that “Russia is actually doing anything that suggests they are
contemplating the use of nuclear weapons.”
“I can just
tell you that we plan against every possible scenario, including this one.”
Biden also
pushed back against Putin’s comments on Friday in which he accused the West of
sabotaging Russia-built natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea to Germany.
Nordic nations said the undersea blasts that damaged the pipelines this week
and have led to huge methane leaks involved several hundred pounds of
explosives.
The
president said the U.S. and allies are still working to determine who was
responsible for the blasts, but excoriated Putin over his accusation.
“Let me say
this, it was a deliberate act of sabotage,” Biden said. “And now the Russians
are pumping out disinformation and lies.”
As for a
broader guarantee of protection, Ukraine has sought NATO membership for years
but has not yet been admitted due to concerns about its domestic governance. As
a result of Russia’s invasion, Finland and Sweden have applied for fast-track
admission into the alliance.
The White
House said national security adviser Jake Sullivan had spoken with NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to highlight the U.S. and NATO’s “firm
commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Earlier,
following Putin’s announcement, the White House along with the State, Treasury
and Commerce departments had announced the new sanctions in a series of
coordinated statements. The sanctions expand on what have been escalating
penalties against Russia and its proxies since the invasion began on Feb. 24.
Treasury
designated hundreds of members of Russia’s parliament, leaders of the country’s
financial and military infrastructure and suppliers for sanctions designations
that include asset freezes and bans on Americans doing business with them. The
Commerce Department added 57 companies to its list of export control violators,
and the State Department added more than 900 people to its visa ban list,
making them ineligible for travel to the United States.
Since the
start of the invasion, the U.S. and European nations have imposed significant
financial penalties on Russia, its leadership and wealthy oligarchs tied to
Putin. The allies have gone after the central bank reserves that underpin the
Russian economy and have severed many Russian banks from a vital global financial
network called SWIFT.
The war is
having a devastating impact on the global economy and has contributed to
massive disruptions to supplies of energy and food throughout the world. The Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development this week said the global economy is
set to lose $2.8 trillion in output in 2023 because of the conflict.
Putin
appears undeterred. He warned that Russia would never give up the absorbed
regions —the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions— and would
protect them as part of its sovereign territory.
Both houses
of the Russian parliament will meet next week to approve the treaties for the
regions to join Russia.
Associated
Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer, Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller contributed
reporting.