Biden imposes sanctions on Putin as Russian president continues attack on Ukraine

President Biden imposed financial sanctions Friday on Russian chief Vladimir Putin and a $10-billion Kremlin-run funding fund because the U.S. sought to bolster an financial stress marketing campaign aimed toward punishing Moscow for launching its unprovoked battle with Ukraine, the White Home introduced.

Biden’s transfer to sanction the Russian president immediately got here after a name with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has expressed frustration that the U.S. and different democratic nations had been leaving his nation’s army “on their lonesome” to struggle the Russian onslaught.

White Home Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Friday that the administration was imposing particular person sanctions on Putin, one in all his nation’s richest males.

Biden, she mentioned, determined to hitch the European Union in sanctioning the Russian president and his overseas minister, Sergei Lavrov, after talking with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen. The EU had taken the motion earlier within the day.

Hours later, Psaki introduced through tweet the transfer to impose sanctions on the Russia Direct Funding Fund. She described the fund as “a state-owned monetary entity that capabilities as a sovereign wealth fund, which is meant to draw capital into the Russian economic system in high-growth sectors.”

The strikes proceed a gradual ratcheting up of financial sanctions and export controls this week as Putin licensed the invasion of Ukraine, which has been an impartial nation for the reason that dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The White Home has up to now focused Russia’s largest banks and several other oligarchs who’re near Putin. It has averted hitting the nation’s vitality sector out of concern concerning the affect on vitality markets and stopped in need of barring Russia from the SWIFT banking system, a safe communications community very important to worldwide transactions that connects greater than 11,000 banks.

The U.S., with Germany main the way in which, additionally moved to halt the Nord Stream 2 fuel pipeline venture that Putin has lengthy sought to deepen Europe’s dependence on Russia’s vitality sources.

Biden and NATO allies have moved largely in lockstep in responding to Putin’s aggression. However with Russian bombs exploding in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, a clearly exhausted Zelensky pleaded on Friday for the U.S. and Europe to do extra to again Ukraine’s army and the civilians who’re taking on arms and massing within the streets.

Following his first name with Biden for the reason that invasion started in earnest on Tuesday, Zelensky tweeted his gratitude for added U.S. help, suggesting that extra sanctions and protection support from Washington had been within the offing.