Biden set to order sanctions on separatist areas of Ukraine after Putin decree

WASHINGTON – The White Home mentioned Monday afternoon it was prepared to reply instantly to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s resolution to acknowledge the independence of two breakaway areas of jap Ukraine.

White Home press secretary Jen Psaki mentioned Biden would signal an govt order that may “prohibit new funding, commerce, and financing by U.S. individuals to, from, or within the so-called Donetsk Folks’s Republic and Luhansk Folks’s Republic areas of Ukraine.”

“To be clear: these measures are separate from and can be along with the swift and extreme financial measures now we have been getting ready in coordination with allies and companions ought to Russia additional invade Ukraine,” Psaki wrote in a press release.

Psaki added that the Departments of State and Treasury will share further particulars of the Biden administration’s actions shortly.

Putin’s resolution to acknowledge the so-called Donetsk Folks’s Republic and Luhansk Folks’s Republic, breakaway areas within the Donbas, got here in an hour-long televised handle Monday night.

U.S. and European allies have warned that this type of transfer by Putin may function a attainable prelude to a Russian invasion.

European leaders additionally condemned Putin’s announcement and issued contemporary threats to answer the “blatant violation of worldwide legislation.”

“The [European] Union will react with sanctions towards these concerned on this unlawful act. The Union reiterates its unwavering help to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity inside its internationally acknowledged borders,” wrote European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel in a joint assertion.

NATO Secretary-Basic Jens Stoltenberg mentioned Putin’s announcement “additional undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and erodes efforts in the direction of a decision of the battle. He additionally known as on Moscow to instantly reverse its large army build-up on Ukraine’s borders.

A White Home official informed NBC Information mentioned that Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday afternoon for practically 40 minutes. Following his name with the Ukrainian president, Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Final week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk would set off a “swift and agency response from america in full coordination with our Allies and companions.”

That is breaking information. Please verify again for updates.