WASHINGTON — American President Joe Biden hit back Thursday against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany and declaring that America would stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, AP reported.
He also acknowledged that the invasion — and efforts to thwart Putin — will have a cost for Americans. But he sought to reassure that the economic pain that may come with rising energy prices will be short lived in the U.S.
As for the Russian president, Biden said, “He’s going to test the resolve of the West to see if we stay together. And we will.”
Targeting Russia’s financial system, Biden said, the United States will block assets of large Russian banks, i mpose export controls aimed at the nation’s high-tech needs and sanction its business oligarchs.
The president said the U.S. also will be deploying additional forces to Germany to bolster NATO after the invasion of Ukraine, which is not a member of the defense organization. Some 7,000 additional U.S. troops will be sent.
But some U.S. lawmakers—and Ukrainian officials—called on Biden to do more.
“There is more that we can and should do,” said Sen Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, pointing to the possibility of removing Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system and sanctioning Putin personally. “Congress and the Biden administration must not shy away from any options.”
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