Russia-Ukraine live updates Biden announces sanctions on Russia after moves against Ukraine
Biden said a “first tranche” of U.S. sanctions against Russia would target two financial institutions, Russian sovereign debt and Russian elites and their family members.
“To put it simply, Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine,” Biden said. He added that he still hopes diplomacy is possible.
Here’s what to know
Biden hopes to limit the impact Americans feel from sanctions on Russia
Return to menuBiden said his administration is working to make sure that Americans are not deeply affected by upcoming sanctions on Russia.
“I want to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump,” he said Tuesday from the White House. “This is critical to me.”
Biden said the administration was monitoring energy supplies for any disruption and working to ensure stability. “This will be … will blunt gas prices.”
The president has regularly threatened to impose sanctions on Russia if the country moved forward with invading Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine on Monday amid fears of further military intervention.
“There’s no question that Russia is the aggressor,” Biden said. “So we’re clear-eyed about the challenges we’re facing.”
“Nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst-case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people if they move as suggested,” he added.
Despite Putin’s actions, Biden said he hopes an opportunity to avert an escalating crisis is still on the table. But in the event that that time has passed, the United States will be prepared to respond accordingly.
“When all is said and done, we’re going to judge Russia by its actions, not its words,” he said. “And whatever Russia does next, we’re ready to respond with unity, clarity and conviction.”
“We’ll probably have more to say about this as he moves on,” the president added. “I’m hoping diplomacy is still available.”
Biden: Putin ‘setting up a rationale to take more territory by force’
Return to menuIn announcing new sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, President Biden said Putin had “bizarrely asserted” that the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine were independent republics and then authorized Russian forces to deploy into those regions.
“To put it simply, Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine,” Biden said. “He’s setting up a rationale to take more territory by force, in my view … This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as he indicated, and asked permission to be able to do from his Duma.”
Biden said the new sanctions go far beyond those implemented in 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea, and that the U.S. and its allies “stand prepared to go further” if Putin proceeds further with his invasion.
“Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives them the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors?” Biden said. “This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.”
Biden authorizes additional movement of U.S. troops to support Baltic allies
Return to menuPresident Biden said Tuesday that he’s authorized the additional movement of U.S. forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to support Baltic allies — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — against Russian threats.
“Let me be clear: These are totally defensive moves on our part; we have no intention of fighting Russia,” Biden said during a White House address. “We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory and abide by the commitments we made to NATO.”
Biden said the administration still believes that Russia is “poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack against Ukraine.”
“I hope I’m wrong about that,” he said. “I hope we’re wrong about that. But Russia is only escalating its threat against the rest of Ukrainian territory, including major cities, including the capital city of Kyiv. There are still well over one hundred and fifty thousand Russian troops surrounding Ukraine.”
McConnell says ‘the world is watching’ America’s response to Putin
Return to menuSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that Putin had turned his back on diplomacy in favor of invading a sovereign country, and said the rest of the world would be watching the response of the United States.
“Every indication suggests [Putin’s] actions will almost certainly be used as a prelude to even further aggression and an even larger invasion,” McConnell said in a statement. “If that occurs, many Ukrainians could die. The humanitarian consequences could be catastrophic.”
McConnell added that the threat would not stop with Ukraine, and that “all the free nations of the world” would be affected if Putin’s aggressions stood unchallenged.
“The world is watching. Our allies, our adversaries, and neutral countries will all judge the West by our response — and plan their futures accordingly.”
McConnell called on Biden to impose “devastating sanctions against the Kremlin and its enablers,” and said Putin must pay a much heavier price than for his previous invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. He also said Germany must permanently cancel the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and that NATO must shore up defenses along its eastern flank.
McConnell’s statement was more cautious than that of House Republican leadership, which accused Biden of “appeasement” and lack of strong action against Russia.
“The U.S. and our allies must now make the Putin regime pay for this aggression,” House GOP leaders said in a statement Tuesday. “China, Iran and North Korea are watching. They must see us respond firmly to this Russian aggression.”
Russian troops in Ukraine spell uncertainty for oil and natural gas markets
Return to menuRussia’s mounting aggression against Ukraine is creating a new and potentially prolonged period of uncertainty about global oil and gas supplies.
A long conflict could send crude oil prices higher, taking the price of gasoline with them. It could also create more uncertain natural gas supplies for Europe, which relies on Russian exports to heat and power many of its homes and factories.
Russia’s ability to continue serving as one of the world’s largest oil and gas suppliers will depend on several factors: whether Western sanctions disrupt Russian exports; whether conflict damages Russian export pipelines traveling through Ukraine; and whether Russia resorts to curbing its exports to punish the West.
Russia announces withdrawal of diplomats from Ukraine
Return to menuMOSCOW — Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced the withdrawal of diplomats from Ukraine on Tuesday, an ominous sign amid Western warnings that Russia could further invade the country.
The ministry said it was sending embassy and consulate staff home for their safety because of “repeated attacks” on the embassy and consulates in Odessa, Lviv and Kharkiv.
“The decision to evacuate foreign missions in Ukraine was made to protect the life and safety of personnel,” the ministry said in a statement.
It came after Russia recognized the sovereignty of two separatist areas in Ukraine, including territory it claims is under Kyiv’s control. It also followed comments from top officials including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Ukraine was not a sovereign nation, and accusations of “genocide” against Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he was considering severing ties with Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this would “end up creating extra difficulties and extra problems in arranging our relations.”
“They’ll need to be normalized sooner or later,” he said, while accusing Ukraine of attacking its own citizens in separatist areas — claims that Ukraine denies. Russia has offered no evidence.
Putin called on Ukraine to forget ever joining NATO and accept that Crimea — the Ukrainian territory he annexed in 2014 — is Russian, if it wants peace with Russia.
Meeting between French and Russian foreign ministers canceled, as France’s diplomatic efforts falter
Return to menuPARIS — French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday announced the cancellation of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, as French efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine faltered.
The French had announced on Monday afternoon that Lavrov had agreed to participate in the meeting, which was set to take place in Paris on Friday and was meant as preparation for a potential summit between Biden and Putin. French President Emmanuel Macron had played a key role in trying to arrange such a potential meeting.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Le Drian said the Russian deployment of troops into separatist regions of Ukraine meant that his talks with Lavrov could no longer go ahead.
Macron has played an outsized role in the negotiations, traveling to Moscow earlier this month and meeting with Putin to try to deter the Russian leader from invading Ukraine.
Monday morning, French officials insisted they were still hopeful that the strategy may be working. But after Putin’s address to Russians on Monday night, a senior French official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it is government practice, called the Russian president’s remarks “adversarial” and “paranoid.”
In a statement, Macron called for targeted sanctions. Le Drian on Tuesday welcomed a European sanctions plan, which were agreed upon in an earlier European Union meeting in Paris, saying there was a “desire to move quickly,” but adding that “this firmness still leaves the door for diplomacy open.”
Austin: ‘Latest Russian invasion’ threatens peace, but Putin can avoid ‘a full-blown tragic war of choice’
Return to menuDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that Russia’s “latest invasion is threatening the peace and security and prosperity of Ukraine and of trans-Atlantic community” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had attacked “the very notion” of an independent Ukraine in his speech on Monday.
Speaking at the Pentagon, Austin commended Ukraine for a “measured response” in the crisis and for seeking diplomatic solutions as Russia makes false accusations against Ukrainian officials and acts aggressively.
“We will continue to work closely with you and remain in lockstep with our allies and partners to avoid further conflict,” Austin said. “Mr. Putin can still avoid a full-blown, tragic war of choice.”
The defense secretary’s remarks came at the outset of a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The foreign minister said that he was in Washington for a diplomatic mission, “but these days, diplomacy means defense.”
Kuleba thanked the United States for helping Ukraine to build the defensive capabilities of its military and said that Washington has been Kyiv’s top security partner “especially since 2014,” after Russia annexed Crimea.
European Union announces plans to sanction Russia
Return to menuBRUSSELS — The European Union on Tuesday announced plans to sanction Russia for formally recognizing and sending troops to breakaway territories in eastern Ukraine.
After a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers in Paris, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, outlined a plan to target people and entities linked to the latest move. They include 351 members of Russia’s State Duma that voted for recognition, as well as “27 individuals and entities who are playing a role in undermining or threatening Ukrainian territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence,” Borrell said.
Among them are decision-makers, entities providing financial or material support and banks. Borrell also said the E.U. will “target the ability of the Russian state and government to access our capital and financial markets and services.”
For weeks, European officials have been warning of “massive” sanctions in the case of further Russian escalation. However, the bloc has been split on the question of what would trigger the penalties, as well as what specific measures the sanctions should include.
Tuesday’s announcement suggests that Europe plans to proceed step by step rather than hitting Putin with the “mother of all sanctions” packages it had threatened to unveil.
The move appears to have been coordinated with allies. Biden on Monday issued an executive order that expanded existing sanctions, blocking new U.S. investment, trade and property transactions in the two regions. U.S. officials said there was more to come. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also announced economic sanctions against Russia, calling the move a “first barrage,” with the potential for more.
Noack reported from Paris.
Russia’s Putin calls on Ukraine to forget NATO membership, accept that Crimea is Russian
Return to menuMOSCOW — Russian President Putin urged Ukraine on Tuesday to forget joining NATO and to accept that Crimea belongs to Russia.
He said Kyiv’s best path forward was military neutrality — a day after a speech in which he suggested that Ukraine is not a sovereign country. He repeated his claim of a real threat that Ukraine could develop nuclear weapons, threatening Russia.
Putin won unanimous approval from lawmakers Tuesday to send Russian troops into two separatist republics in eastern Ukraine, after recognizing them as independent states a day earlier.
Asked at a Kremlin news conference about getting approval to send in troops, he said, “Well, what about it?” He added that new treaties with the separatists on recognizing their self-proclaimed republics provide for Russia to give them military aid.
The treaties also provide for Russian forces to assist with guarding borders and allow Moscow to establish military bases.
Putin said troops might not go in soon, depending on the situation on the ground, adding, “It is impossible to predict any specific outline of possible actions at all.” Western countries have said Russian troops have already been deployed to the separatist regions.
Moscow has recognized the separatists’ territorial claims, which extend to three times the size of the area they now occupy. That means they include areas under Ukrainian government control, notably the crucial port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
Putin said a 2015 peace agreement that was supposed to restore the regions to Kyiv’s control was “killed,” blaming Kyiv for the failure of peace efforts.
For Russia and Ukraine to live peacefully together, he said, Kyiv would have to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.
“What should happen on both sides, or on the part of [Kyiv] so that in our opinion the situation can be settled in the long-term historical perspective, so that we can live peacefully and so that there is no question of any conflicts, much less armed ones?”
The answer, he said, was for Kyiv to recognize a 2014 referendum when people in Crimea voted to join Russia. The legitimacy of the vote was rejected by the United Nations.
Dow slumps 300 points, oil prices spike on escalating Russia-Ukraine crisis
Return to menuU.S. stocks slid and oil prices shot up Tuesday against the backdrop of an escalating crisis in Ukraine, with the Dow Jones industrial average shedding 300 points at midday.
Global markets also sold off sharply after Putin recognized the independence of two Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered Russian forces onto their territories for “peacekeeping” purposes.
With some 190,000 Russian personnel and separatist forces on the ground in and around Ukraine, according to a U.S. estimate, investors prepared for economic whiplash from an array of expected sanctions from the United States and Europe against one of the world’s biggest oil producers.
At noon, the Dow was down nearly 300 points, or 0.9 percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes were off 0.7 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
The tangle of geopolitical tensions is only adding to the list of uncertainties that have made trading volatile in 2022, according to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. Although the threat of Russian invasion has been looming for months, investors have been more focused on the potential fallout from a shift to tighter monetary policy as central banks around the world work to tamp down ballooning inflation.
“Now the threat of war is very real, and investors will need to add it to their growing list of things to worry about,” Mould said Tuesday in comments emailed to The Washington Post. “This could prompt another bout of panic and lead to heightened market volatility.”
NATO says Russia is still planning ‘full-scale’ attack on Ukraine
Return to menuRussia’s recent moves in Ukraine have created the most dangerous moment for European security in a generation, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Tuesday, and the alliance sees every indication that Moscow is still planning for a “full-scale” attack.
“Moscow has moved from covert attempts to destabilize Ukraine to overt military action,” he told reporters in Brussels following an emergency meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission.
Stoltenberg said Russia has 150,000 troops massed around Ukraine and noted that they are increasingly in combat formations.
“They are out of their camps, in the field and ready to strike,” he said.
Despite these warnings, Stoltenberg did not announce significant new moves. He said NATO has bolstered its presence in the eastern part of the alliance and could do even more “if necessary.”
Putin gets approval from lawmakers to send troops outside Russia
Return to menuRussian President Vladimir Putin sent an appeal to lawmakers to deploy military forces abroad late Tuesday, as the Defense Ministry claimed the situation in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine was deteriorating and vowed to do all it could to “bring peace.”
Members of Russia’s upper house, the Federation Council, voted unanimously to allow Putin to send troops outside of Russia.
Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said this would allow Russia to deploy military forces in the separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, calling them “peacekeeping forces.” (The United States and allies said that had already happened.)
Fears of an invasion deepened Tuesday when it emerged that Moscow had recognized the territorial claims of separatists reaching well beyond the area they now occupy — extending to areas under Ukraine government control including the crucial Mariupol port on the Sea of Azov.
Western officials say Russian claims in recent days that Ukraine attacked the separatists areas appeared to be preparing a pretext to invade. Kyiv officials have denied the attacks, and Russian officials have produce no evidence of the “genocide” Putin has insisted is occurring.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said Tuesday the situation in the separatist regions was worsening, vowing to defend Russian citizens there.
Since 2019, Russia has fast-tracked 800,000 Russian passports to Ukrainians in the separatist areas, sparking warnings from analysts this could become a pretext to invade in their defense.
Biden expected to speak about new sanctions Tuesday afternoon
Return to menuPresident Biden plans to “provide an update on Russia and Ukraine” on Tuesday afternoon, the White House announced. He is expected to speak about sanctions in response to Russia’s deployment of troops into two pro-Russian separatist regions of Ukraine.
The remarks are scheduled to take place from the East Room of the White House at 1 p.m.
The White House did not provide additional details.
Russia-Ukraine tensions: What you need to know
The latest
What’s happening in the Ukraine-Russia crisis | Russian forces stay in Belarus; Biden convenes NSC about invasion threat | Ukraine’s Lviv becomes ‘western capital’ as some diplomats leave Kyiv | In Ukraine’s Donbas region, war is an ever-present reality
The geography
Four maps that explain the Russia-Ukraine conflict | Wetlands and radioactive soil: How Ukraine’s geography could influence a Russian invasion
The backstory
Why might Russia want to invade Ukraine? | Six reasons Russia is at odds with Ukraine’s Zelensky | What is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and why is Biden vowing to stop it if Russia invades Ukraine? | Here’s where countries stand on the Russia-Ukraine crisis
Analysis
When it comes to Ukraine, what do Russian citizens actually want? | Why it’s not so easy to slap sanctions on Vladimir Putin | An invasion of Ukraine could drive up global food prices and spark unrest far from the front lines | How joining NATO and the E.U. became Ukraine’s unattainable dream
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