President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced he plans to implement more sanctions “this week” on Russia hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a U.S. nuclear treaty.
Speaking in Warsaw, Poland, with Ukrainian colored yellow and blue lights reflected on Royal Castle, Biden spoke about Russia’s war against Ukraine, a conflict based on decades of territorial claims. Biden said he will place more sanctions on Russia without noting the specifics.
“Together we made sure Russia is paying the price for its abuses,” Biden prefaced. “We continue to maintain the largest sanctions regime ever imposed on any country in history.”
“And we are going to announce more sanctions this week together with our partners,” he announced. “We will hold those accountable for those responsible for this war, and will seek justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity continuing to be committed by the Russians.”
The Biden administration has imposed approximately 1,500 new and 750 amended sanctions and export controls against Russia since the Ukrainian war began last year, according to the State Department.
The impact of the measures has degraded the Russian weapons industry, imposed costs on many Russian oligarchs, and immobilized about $300 billion worth of Russian Central Bank assets.
Critics say the sanctions have caused the conflict to escalate and prevented Putin a way to end the struggle without impacting his domestic political standing.
On Tuesday, hours before Biden spoke, Putin announced the unilateral suspension of a 2011 nuclear pact, named New START agreement, that sought to limit Russian and American nuclear development.
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” he said. “The West uses Ukraine as a ram against Russia.”
Putin ended the agreement by also slamming the West for its so-called moral rot or “spiritual catastrophe.”
“They distort historical facts and constantly attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country,” Putin said. “Look at what they do with their own peoples: the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, and the abuse of children are declared the norm. And priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages.”
According to Breitbart News’s Frances Martel, “Putin has taken to raising social and religious issues during remarks about Ukraine, without offering any direct connection.” In September, Putin announced the “annexation” of four Ukrainian regions and claimed the Western countries were “Satanic.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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