Russia-Ukraine war: US President announces more sanctions, limits banks & hi-tech imports

After Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday that was in reality full-scale war against Ukraine, United States President Joe Biden lambasted his Russian counterpart, calling him 'the aggressor' who 'chose this war', and assuring that now Putin and his country will bear the consequences. Following this, Biden went on to announce more sanctions on Russia, confirming that it has been decided with the full agreement of the European Union, NATO and G7 nations. 

Here are the fresh set of sanctions announced by US President Biden:

• Sanctions on four more Russian banks, including VTB bank, that together hold around $1.4 trillion in assets. 
• All assets of Russia in these banks will be frozen
• Russia's ability to do business in Dollars, Pounds, Euros and Yen will be limited
• Export controls will "cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports."
• The US will add to the names of Russian elites and family members who are sanctioned

'This is a pre-meditated attack': President Biden on Russia-Ukraine War

In his address, the US President said, "Putin has done a brutal assault on the people of Ukraine, without provocation, without justification, without necessity. This is a pre-meditated attack. Vladimir Putin has been planning this for months all along. He moved more than a 1,75,000 troops and equipment positioned along the Ukrainian border. He rejected every good faith offer the US, and allied partners made. For weeks, we have been warning that this would happen. Now it's unfolding as largely as we predicted. They kept accusing Ukraine on various grounds without any evidence."

Later, when asked by the press if he would speak to his Russian counterpart, President Biden asserted, "I have no plans to talk to Russian President Putin. He wants to reestablish the former Soviet Union, I think his ambition and ours are completely contrary to the place where the rest of the world has arrived."

Russia-Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine, that was nonetheless clearly called out as a war. Putin claimed that Russia does not plan to invade Ukraine and that its military action is to 'demilitarize' Ukraine, though it appears to have launched nothing less than full-scale non-nuclear war. He also urged Ukrainian troops in Donbass to give up their weapons and 'go home'. Putin also stated that it is 'inevitable' that there will be fighting between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers.