“I don’t doubt they are already calculating how to realize these plans,” Mr. Putin mentioned.
American officers have mentioned for months that there are not any such plans, and Mr. Biden mentioned at a January information convention that Ukraine was nonetheless years away from qualifying for NATO membership. But he has been unwilling to bend to Mr. Putin’s demand that NATO stop accepting new members, and that he present a written, binding assure that Ukraine would by no means be a part of the Western alliance.
Mr. Biden’s choices for countering any navy strikes into Ukraine in coming days are restricted. He has mentioned repeatedly that he wouldn’t permit American forces to struggle in Ukraine. But there isn’t a assure that the battle won’t spill over Ukraine’s borders.
Europe was girding for refugees fleeing a contemporary, if corruption-ridden, democracy whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was in Munich on Saturday pleading his case that NATO should open its doorways to his nation — and thus defend it. Mr. Biden’s personal nationwide safety officers have been warning American utilities, banks and different companies to harden their networks in opposition to what they concern shall be a wave of Russian-origin cyberattacks and ransomware, which they’ve publicly warned might be unleashed in response to the sanctions.
While Mr. Biden’s actions on Monday evening had been restrained, his administration denounced the Russian determination as a breach of the foundations governing the worldwide order.
In an announcement, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, referred to as Mr. Putin’s transfer a “blatant violation of Russia’s international commitments.”
The secretary common of the United Nations, António Guterres, referred to as the motion a violation of his group’s constitution. The United Nations Security Council held an emergency assembly late Monday evening during which the United States and its allies denounced Moscow’s actions — however Russia holds a veto in that physique, assuring that it may block any motion.
In a joint assertion, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council president, Charles Michel, wrote that the European Union would “react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act,” and that it “reiterates its unwavering support to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”