The announcement comes at a time when a senior defense official claims Russian forces are ready to invade and are now uncoiled. These new sanctions will be added to the that the U.S. and Europe imposed this week.
“Today, i have directed my government to impose sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG und its corporate officers,” Mr. Biden stated in a statement. These steps are yet another part of our initial round of sanctions against Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine. We will not hesitate, as I have stated, to take additional steps if Russia escalates. Putin’s actions have given the world a strong incentive to shift away from Russian gas to other energy sources.
Germany announced Tuesday that it would suspend the pipeline linking natural gas from Russia to Germany. This is a move the U.S. strongly supported. Biden also announced sanctions on Russian elites and financial institutions. He called Russia’s recent actions ” the start of a Russian invasion in Ukraine“and promised more sanctions if Russia continues to act aggressively against its neighbor.
According to a senior defense official, 80% of Russian forces near Ukraine are in “forward positions” and Russian President Vladimir Putin now has nearly 100% of the forces that the U.S. considers necessary for an invasion.
Putin officially recognized Luhansk, Donetsk, as an independent region from Ukraine this week and stated that he would send “peacekeeping forces” into these regions. Russian lawmakers approved the Russian president’s request for military force to be used outside Russia.
