Joe Biden has refused to say why the US is not personally sanctioning Vladimir Putin after he Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday afternoon, just hours after Russia started attacking cities across Ukraine, Mr Biden announced a set of sanctions against Russia that he claimed would be as damaging as the bombs and bullets being fired by Russian forces.
Mr Biden said he had not spoken with the Russian and had “no plans to talk” with him
“Putin’s aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly economically and strategically,” he said.
“Putin will be a pariah on the international stage. Putin’s choice to make a totally unjustifiable war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger.”
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Mr Biden announced a series of sanctions on Russia.
“This is going to impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time. 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,” he said.
Yet when he was asked why the US was not personally sanctioning Mr Putin and whether a promise to do so was a “bluff”, he struggled to answer.
