War In Ukraine Latest Updates Day 2: The Biden administration announced sanctions on the Russian government after it launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. The US president Joe Biden after holding several key meetings said that every step is being taken to cripple Russia’s ability to wage war.
“We will limit Russia’s ability to be part of the global economy. We will stunt their ability to finance and grow Russia’s military. We will impair their ability to compete in a high-tech, 21st century economy,” Biden said in a tweet after meeting G7 counterparts.
So far the US has sanctioned Russian banks severing Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank, from the US financial system. Russia’s second largest financial institution, VTB Bank and three other major Russian financial institutions – Bank Otkritie, Sovcombank OJSC and Novikombank have been fully blocked. Russian elites and their family members will also come under the ambit of the sanctions. Lack of consensus among European allies regarding excluding Russia from the SWIFT banking system still concerns Ukraine.
The US vice president Kamala Harris in a tweet also condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine. “We will continue to work with our Allies and our partners around the world. We are unified in our position on this and in our reaction to this unjustified, unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” Harris said in a tweet. The US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin also assured his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov that the US will increase defensive assistance to Ukraine.
‘Russia In Bloody Mess’
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken highlighted that Russia will be in a ‘bloody mess’ after invading Ukraine. Blinken said that the war will be a long game and Russia is willing to play the game even if it leads to the nation landing in a ‘bloody mess’.
When asked about how long the war could go on, Blinken – according to people familiar with developments told news agency CNN – said that it entirely depends on the Ukrainian people.
“Will they allow themselves to be subjected to a puppet government?,” Blinken said. The comment also reflects concerns that the entire Russian operation could be to install a pro-Russian government in Kyiv. Putin on Thursday after announcing war on Ukraine said that he has no intentions of occupying Ukraine.
F-35s Rushed To Baltics
The US will send F-35 fighter aircrafts to Estonia, Lithuania and Romania in line with what US president Joe Biden announced last week, military correspondent for news agency the Washington Post Dan Lamothe said on Twitter. He also tweeted citing a Pentagon briefing that Apache helicopters are expected to reach eastern Europe today but that is dependent on weather conditions. Lamothe, citing a US defence official, highlighted that Russia’s plans are to decapitate the current government in Kyiv and install pro-Kremlin leader.
“We still believe — it is our assessment — that they have every intention of basically decapitating the government and installing their own method of governance, which would explain these early moves toward Kyiv,” Lamothe tweeted citing highly placed officials in the Pentagon.
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