WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Friday it would join the European Union in directly sanctioning President Vladimir Putin, as Russian forces continued a brutal invasion of Ukraine, threatening to take over the capital city of Kyiv.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that following a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the U.S. would join European allies in sanctioning Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other members of the Russian national security team.
The Biden administration has been ratcheting up sanctions against Moscow over the past few days, working in coordination with European allies to take measures in hopes of deterring Putin from launching a wide-scale attack against Ukraine.
But those efforts appeared to do little to keep Putin from pushing Russian forces farther into Ukraine on Friday, as Kyiv was rocked by explosions and the sound of air-raid sirens.
Feb. 25, 202200:48
In a video address on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to stay in Kyiv and said that he was Russia’s “No. 1 target.” Ukrainian officials encouraged people in Kyiv to make Molotov cocktails to defend against the Russian military.
Sanctioning Putin is largely symbolic. The Russian leader has buried his wealth, making it difficult to freeze his assets. Asked by reporters on Thursday whether the U.S. knew where Putin’s money was, deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh responded: “Not going to comment on that.”
Biden on Thursday restricted the exports of some products from the U.S. to Russia, blocking Moscow’s ability to acquire semiconductor chips and other technology essential to defense, aerospace and other critical sectors. He also announced sanctions targeting Russian banks and elites with close ties to Putin, freezing every asset Russia has in the U.S.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
