President Joe Biden will announce sanctions this week on hundreds of members of Russia’s lower house of parliament, according to a White House official familiar with the announcement, as the United States and its allies reach for even stronger measures to punish President Vladimir Putin for his monthlong invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement is scheduled to be made during a series of global summits in Europe on Thursday, when Biden will press Western leaders for even more aggressive economic actions against Russia as its forces continue to rain destruction on cities in Ukraine.
In Brussels on Thursday, Biden and other leaders will announce a “next phase” of military assistance to Ukraine, new plans to expand and enforce economic sanctions, and an effort to further bolster NATO defenses along the border with Russia, Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, said Tuesday.
But Biden faces a steep challenge as he works to confront Putin’s war, which Sullivan said “will not end easily or rapidly.”
The alliance has already pushed the limits of economic sanctions imposed by European countries, which are dependent on Russian energy. And the NATO alliance has largely exhausted most of its military options — short of a direct confrontation with Russia, which Biden has said could result in World War III.
That leaves the president and his counterparts with a relatively short list of announcements they can deliver Thursday after three back-to-back, closed-door meetings.
Still, the chief goal of the summits — which have come together in just a week’s time through diplomats in dozens of countries — may be a further public declaration that Putin’s invasion will not lead to sniping and disagreement among the allies.
Despite speculation that Russia might default on its sovereign debt last week, it was able to make interest payments on $117 million due on two bonds denominated in US dollars. And after initially plunging to record lows this month, the ruble has stabilized.
Biden is scheduled to depart Washington Wednesday morning before summits Thursday with NATO, the Group of 7 major industrialised nations and the European Council, a meeting of all 27 leaders of European Union countries. On Friday, Biden will head to Poland, where he will discuss the flood of Ukrainian refugees and meet with US troops.
