US sanctioning Putin and sending more troops to support Nato after Joe Biden speaks to Ukraine’s president
The US has joined its European allies in plans to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin, and is sending more troops to support Nato, after US President Joe Biden spoke directly with Ukraine’s president.
‘Following a telephone conversation President Biden held with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and in alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team,’ White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday afternoon.
‘I expect we’ll have more specific details out later this afternoon.’
The US’s decision comes hours after the European Union and the UK announced they would introduce sanctions against Putin and and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
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Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for roughly 40 minutes earlier on Friday. They spoke about tougher sanctions on Russia and the US providing more support, said Zelensky, who had pushed for sanctioning Putin.
‘Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS. Grateful to (United States) for the strong support to (Ukraine)!,’ he tweeted.
On Friday, Biden also ordered the deployment of more troops to bolster US capabilities in Europe and support Nato, according to Sky News.
Biden previously said that sanctioning Putin was ‘on the table’.
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