U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on Russia and Ukraine in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Joe Biden spoke Thursday afternoon about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The president was widely expected to debut a new round of sanctions against Moscow in light of the offensive in an attempt to further cripple the Russian economy. White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted on Wednesday that “no [Russian] financial institution is safe” in what many considered a prelude to further restrictions on the country’s banks.
Other measures could include export controls — such as limiting Russia’s access to semiconductors for aerospace, defense and artificial intelligence capabilities — and additions to the list of Russian elites with whom American businesses are barred from working.
Prior to Biden remarks, leaders of the Group of Seven nations said they “are appalled by and condemn” Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and promised to impose “severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions” against the Kremlin.
Moscow embarked on a large-scale offensive of its neighbor early Thursday local time with attacks on several Ukrainian cities, including the capital of Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would launch a “special military operation” in Ukraine designed to check its military capacity and added that Moscow’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territory.
The U.S. and its NATO allies say there’s little to no evidence of military aggression from Ukraine and that Russian claims to the contrary serve as Moscow’s pretext for invasion.
The military conflict in Ukraine and subsequent economic sanctions have kept global markets volatile for weeks and roiled traders again on Thursday. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 closed down more than 3% as bank stocks swooned more than 8%, while the German DAX index dropped 4%.
Minutes before noon in New York, the U.S. S&P 500 traded about 1% lower.
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