News

The U.S Will Not Send Troops To Defend Ukraine Against Russia – President Biden

Published

2 years ago

February 24, 2022

President gives Ukraine address after meeting G7 leaders over Russia invasion.

“Our forces are not, and will not be engaged in the conflict with Russia in Ukraine,” President Biden says.

“Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the east.”

This morning, I met with my G7 counterparts to discuss President Putin’s unjustified attack on Ukraine and we agreed to move forward on devastating packages of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia to account. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/dzvYxj7J9w
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 24, 2022

President Joe Biden gave his first address to the nation since Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning, where he announce a series of ‘major’ sanctions against Moscow.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning with a series of missile attacks on cities including the capital Kiev.

Since then, dozens of Ukrainians have been killed, civilians are fleeing their homes and global markets have plunged.

Mr Biden has vowed to hold Russia “accountable” for the “premeditated war” and condemned the attack in aa phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky overnight.

On Thursday morning, the president gathered his top national security officials in the White House situation room before joining the other G7 leaders in a meeting where the nations vowed to unite in rolling out “severe sanctions” on Russia.

President refuses to comment on China’s response to Ukraine invasion
Mr Biden refused to comment on China’s response to the Ukraine invasion during the Q&A after his speech to the nation.

When asked whether he was urging China to condemn Russia, the president paused before responding: “I’m not prepared to comment on that at the moment.”

Earlier on Thursday, China’s Foreign Ministry refused to call Russia’s attack on Ukraine an “invasion” and appeared to push the blame onto the US.

Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying was asked multiple times in a press conference whether she would define the situation as an invasion but she repeatedly avoided giving a yes or no answer.

“The US has been fueling the flame, fanning up the flame, how do they want to put out the fire?” she said at one point.

Biden: Putin is a ‘pariah’ while the US is ‘not doing this alone’
The president described Mr Putin as a “pariah” while saying that the US is not “alone” in responding to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Mr Biden pointed out that he had met with the G7 leaders that day and that the G7 and 27 members of the European Union were standing in solidarity in implementing new sanctions.

“Putin will be a pariah on the international stage,” he said.

“Putin’s choice to make a totally unjustifiable war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.”

Biden unveils sweeping new sanctions on Russia
The president unveiled a series of sweeping new sanctions on Russia which will target the nation’s top banks, elite individuals and access to technology, which he said will have a “long-term impact” on the nation’s economy.

“This is going to impose severe costs on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time,” he said.

“We have purposefully designed these sanctions to maximize a long-term impact on Russia and to minimize the impact on the United States and our allies.”

Biden says Putin planned ‘premeditated attack’ for months
Mr Biden has said that Mr Putin planned the “premeditated attack” on Ukraine for months and vowed that Russia will now “bear the consequences” of its actions.

“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war and now he and his country will bear the consequences,” he said.

US doesn’t rule out possibility of Russia ‘lashing out’ with cyber attack on America
Officials are not ruling out the possibility that Russia could retaliate against sanctions imposed by the US by targeting American companies or infrastructure in cyber attacks.

House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep Adam Schiff admitted in a press briefing on Thursday that there are concerns that “Russian tools” used to carry out cyber attacks in Ukraine will extend beyond the country.

“The other possibility is that Putin lashes out at the United Sates and NATO and in this hybrid warfare that they use cyber stools to attack American companies or American infrastructure,” he said.

“We have to hope and pray that doesn’t happen but in warfare there is always the risk of escalation.”

The congressman said that American companies should focus on best practices in cyber security to reduce risks of falling foul to an attack.