President Biden has announced sanctions against Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Background: On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics in eastern Ukraine as independent. Then Putin used that as a catalyst to order Russian troops to those regions.
President Biden remarked that the move by Putin is the “beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
On Tuesday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered the military to begin drafting reservists aged 18 to 60 into its armed forces as the country prepares for a possible invasion by Russia.
“There is no need for general mobilization today. We need to promptly replenish the Ukrainian army and other military formations,” the president said.
“As the supreme commander in chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, I issued a decree on the conscription of reservists during a special period,” he added.
Also, on Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced initial sanctions against Russia.
Russian sovereign debt and Russian elites as well as their family members along with Russian financial institutions, VEB, and Russia’s military bank were sanctioned.
Biden threatened harsher sanctions if Russia’s aggression against Ukraine continued.
“If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions,” President Biden said.
What Happened: On Wednesday, President Biden announced sanctions against the controversial Russian pipeline.
Biden said in a statement that his administration would put sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the parent company of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and its corporate officers. (per The Hill)
Ukraine has also issued a 30-day state of emergency and urged Ukrainians to leave the country.
Context: At the beginning of his term, the Biden administration waived sanctions on the pipeline — generating pushback from Democrats and Republicans alike who said it should take a harder line on Russia.
