Biden warns Putin with sanctions as West steps up Ukraine defences
Categories: FOREIGN COUNTRIES
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would consider personal sanctions on President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, as Western leaders stepped up military preparations and made plans to shield Europe from a potential energy supply shock.The rare sanctions threat came as Nato places forces on standby and reinforces eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response to Russia's troop build-up near its border with Ukraine. Russia denies planning an attack and says the crisis is being driven by Nato and US actions. It is demanding security guarantees from the West, including a promise by Nato never to admit Ukraine. Moscow sees the former Soviet republic as a buffer between Russia and Nato countries.If Russia were to move into Ukraine with the estimated 100,000 soldiers it has massed near the border, Biden said it would be the "largest invasion since World War Two" and would "change the world." Russia said it was watching with great concern and accused Washington of fuelling tensions over Ukraine, repeating its line that the crisis was being driven by US and Nato actions rather than by its own build-up of forces near the Ukrainian border.Biden said on Tuesday he may deploy US troops in the nearer term but ruled out sending unilateral US forces to Ukraine, which is not a Nato member. "There is not going to be any American forces moving into Ukraine," he said."It is absolutely vital that... the West is united now, because it is our unity now that will be much more effective in deterring any Russian aggression," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, adding Britain was discussing with the United States the possibility of banning Russia from the SWIFT global payments system. "There are no rose-colored glasses, no childish illusions, everything is not simple. ... But there is hope," Zelenskiy said in a televised address. "Protect your body from viruses, your brain from lies, your heart from panic."The EU depends on Russia for around a third of its gas supplies. Any interruptions to its Russian imports would exacerbate an existing energy crisis caused by shortages. "We've... been working to identify additional volumes of non-Russian natural gas from North Africa and the Middle East, Asia, and the United States," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters.An escalated conflict would likely further increase energy costs for many countries, keeping headline inflation rates elevated for longer, said Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.