Biden Announces Sanctions over Russian 'Invasion' of Ukraine
2022-02-23
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1American President Joe Biden announced severe sanctions against Russian banks and powerful Russian business leaders Tuesday.
2He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of breaking international law in what Biden called "the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine."
3The measures came after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine as independent states earlier on Monday.
4Putin also ordered Russian troops to cross the border in what he called a "peacekeeping" mission.
5In a short 9-minute address from the White House, Biden said Russian actions violated international law and required tough measures from the international community.
6Biden announced that the United States will block businesses from two large Russian banks and enforce economic measures against Russian debts.
7"That means we've cut off Russia's government from Western finance," he said.
8"It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either."
9Other measures included sanctions against Russian leaders and their families.
10The 27 member states of the European Union also agreed to set their own sanctions targeting Russian officials over their actions in Ukraine.
11The U.S. announcement came after Germany suspended the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
12The U.S. and Western allies have long opposed the project, warning that it would increase Russian influence in Europe.
13The strong new measures, Biden said, were "far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014.
14And if Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions."
15The U.S. and Western allies announced limited economic measures against Russia after its takeover of Crimea, a Ukrainian territory on the Black Sea.
16President Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will send additional troops and military equipment to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the neighboring Baltic area.
17Biden noted, "We have no intention of fighting Russia.
18We 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."
19NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Tuesday that Russia "has now moved from covert attempts to destabilize Ukraine to overt military action."
20He added NATO allies have more than 100 jet planes on high alert and more than 120 warships ready at sea from the high north to the Mediterranean Sea.
21Since November, the U.S. and NATO allies have warned about the deployment of more than 150,000 Russian troops around Ukraine.
22In their meeting over video last December, Biden told Putin of "strong economic and other measures" as punishment should Russia start a military conflict against Ukraine.
23To end the crisis, Putin has called for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia.
24The Russian leader has asked for Ukraine to remain "neutral" and end possible NATO membership.
25And he wants the West to stop sending weapons to the country.
26On Tuesday, Biden again met with the Ukrainian foreign minister "to reaffirm the United States' commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. officials said.
27Back in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his people, "We are not afraid of anyone or anything."
28Protestors gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Kyiv with Ukrainian flags.
29One held up a sign that read: "We choose Europe not Russia."
30I'm Jonathan Evans.
1American President Joe Biden announced severe sanctions against Russian banks and powerful Russian business leaders Tuesday. He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of breaking international law in what Biden called "the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine." 2The measures came after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of eastern Ukraine as independent states earlier on Monday. Putin also ordered Russian troops to cross the border in what he called a "peacekeeping" mission. 3In a short 9-minute address from the White House, Biden said Russian actions violated international law and required tough measures from the international community. 4Biden announced that the United States will block businesses from two large Russian banks and enforce economic measures against Russian debts. "That means we've cut off Russia's government from Western finance," he said. "It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either." 5Other measures included sanctions against Russian leaders and their families. The 27 member states of the European Union also agreed to set their own sanctions targeting Russian officials over their actions in Ukraine. 6The U.S. announcement came after Germany suspended the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. The U.S. and Western allies have long opposed the project, warning that it would increase Russian influence in Europe. 7The strong new measures, Biden said, were "far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014. And if Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions." 8The U.S. and Western allies announced limited economic measures against Russia after its takeover of Crimea, a Ukrainian territory on the Black Sea. 9Western troops on alert 10President Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will send additional troops and military equipment to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the neighboring Baltic area. 11Biden noted, "We have no intention of fighting Russia. 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." 12NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Tuesday that Russia "has now moved from covert attempts to destabilize Ukraine to overt military action." 13He added NATO allies have more than 100 jet planes on high alert and more than 120 warships ready at sea from the high north to the Mediterranean Sea. 14Since November, the U.S. and NATO allies have warned about the deployment of more than 150,000 Russian troops around Ukraine. 15In their meeting over video last December, Biden told Putin of "strong economic and other measures" as punishment should Russia start a military conflict against Ukraine. 16To end the crisis, Putin has called for international recognition of Crimea as part of Russia. The Russian leader has asked for Ukraine to remain "neutral" and end possible NATO membership. And he wants the West to stop sending weapons to the country. 17On Tuesday, Biden again met with the Ukrainian foreign minister "to reaffirm the United States' commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," U.S. officials said. 18Back in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his people, "We are not afraid of anyone or anything." Protestors gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Kyiv with Ukrainian flags. 19One held up a sign that read: "We choose Europe not Russia." 20I'm Jonathan Evans. 21Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from VOA, Associated Press and Reuters. 22________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24sanction - n. an action taken to force a country to obey international law 25implement - v. to begin to do something 26commitment - n. a promise to do something 27covert - adj. done in a way that is not easily seen or noticed 28overt - adj. easily seen 29destabilize - v. to cause something (like a government) unstable 30alert - n. the state of being ready 31sovereignty - n. a country's right to govern itself 32integrity - n. the state of being complete or whole