The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new sanctions against Russia, including the adult children of dictator Vladimir Putin, after new evidence of war crimes by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Russia. Putin in Ukraine.
“The heinous atrocities in Bucha are tragic that have revealed the heinous nature of the Putin regime,” a senior administration official said on condition of anonymity Wednesday morning. “Now, one after the other [wealthy Group of Seven] “Allies and partners, we restrict the harshest sanctions imposed on major economies.”
The new measures freeze all U.S. assets of Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, and Alpha Bank, Russia’s largest private bank, preventing them from interacting with the financial system based. in the US or to individuals in the US They also target Russian individuals, including Putin’s children and some of his top advisers. And President Joe Biden will ban new American investments in Russia.
An administration official said previous sanctions were already causing a double-digit recession in Russia’s economy, with inflation at 15% and interest rates higher than 20%, and the new sanctions will exacerbate those conditions. .
“The sanctions have had the effect of warning Putin for months,” the official said. “And at this pace, it’s going back to the Soviet lifestyle in the 1980s.”
The official acknowledged that Putin had not yet withdrawn from the invasion, despite his deteriorating economy, but said popular unrest could ultimately hurt the dictator.
“Even an autocrat like Putin has a social contract with Russian citizens. He took away their freedom in exchange for the promise of stability. It doesn’t give them stability right now.” It gives them instability. and insecurity, “the official said.” What’s the last fight for Putin here? “What is he playing? It’s clearly happening to him without success. At some point, he has to acknowledge that fact”.
The official said he also named family members of Russian leaders because Russian officials and oligarchs hide their wealth in the United States and other Western countries through their wives and children.
“Yes, we believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden from family members. “And that’s why we’re targeting them,” the official said, adding that the sanctions specifically named Putin’s daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Putin.
After Russian troops withdrew from Bucha, a town north of Ukraine’s capital Kiev, Ukrainian forces and journalists have been spotted in recent days. Civilians were killed – Some of them have their hands tied behind their backs – in the streets and inside Common graves Filled with more than 250 People. Russian troops also killed dozens of civilians in two other cities near Kiev, Irpin and Hostomel, while in control of the area, Ukrainian officials said.
“Mothers of Russian soldiers should see this.” Look at the steps you have taken, “Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky told the Telegram on Sunday about the rising evidence of brutality. that Jens Stoltenberg condemned Moscow’s “cruelty to the civilian population that we haven’t seen in Europe in decades”.
Russia Adoption The obvious redundancies were organized by Ukraine and its international friends. But Bucha’s footage shows the corpses of civilians lying in the streets weeks before the Russians left the city. New York Times analysis Resident video and satellite imagery from intelligence firm Maxar Technologies.
The United States is now trying Russia’s expulsion from the UN Human Rights Council. The Biden administration said so Assembly Evidence of human rights violations by Russians e France, Britain At Germany It is also believed that Putin’s forces committed the insult.
Washington and its allies have already exerted unprecedented pressure on Russia in Ukraine, targeting its financial system, some of its most powerful people and its global influence in an effort to oust Putin and sign an agreement on Zelensky.
An administration spokesman said Wednesday that if Putin changed his behavior, sanctions could be reduced or eliminated.
“There is nothing permanent in them. The only aspect that is permanent is the life that was taken from him and he will never take it back. “But the sanctions are designed to allow us to respond to ground conditions and create action for the outcome we are looking for,” the official said.
Source: Huffpost
