“We have made it clear that Russia will continue to escalate and if it engages with a full-scale invading of Ukraine beyond what it is already doing, it will escalate as well. That knowledge might still be a deterrent, I hope. We’ve made it clear that Russia will be facing severe consequences for its actions if it doesn’t. It will,” Blinken said to Norah O’Donnell, anchor of CBS Evening News and managing editor.
He said, “This is the price Vladimir Putin and Russia will have to pay for a long time.”
As Russia intensified its aggression towards Ukraine, President Biden issued economic sanctions against two Russian financial institutions and several Russian Oligarchs. Biden stated that the sanctions were not the “first tranche” of sanctions and that the U.S. was ready to go further.
Mr. Biden stated Wednesday that his administration was also imposing penalties on the company behind Nord Stream 2’s gas pipeline. This was a day after it was stopped by Germany. The pipeline would have transported natural gas from Russia to Germany.
Other U.S. allies like the United Kingdom or the European Union also announced sanctions against Russia earlier in the week.
“It’s something that we’ve been working towards for months. Blinken explained to O’Donnell that Russia will be unable to raise funds around the globe to finance its projects due to additional sanctions. “If this happens, the unprecedented sanctions we have on the table will have a serious impact.”
