RUSSIA/UKRAINE: Biden Goes After Putin, Freezes His Personal Assets As Attack On Ukraine Continues

RUSSIA/UKRAINE: Biden Goes After Putin, Freezes His Personal Assets As Attack On Ukraine Continues.

As the war between Russia and Ukraine lingers and worsens the President Joe Biden-led U.S. government has taken the rare step of freezing the personal assets of the Russian leader, President Vladimir Putin.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that imposing sanctions on Putin “sends a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions by President Putin and the direction in his leadership of the Russian military.”

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The sanctions are a provocative step but are also largely symbolic given that it’s unclear where Putin’s wealth resides. The status of Putin’s financial holdings has been cloaked in mystery and his money is not believed to be held in the United States.

Although the US has sanctioned and frozen the assets of some Russian oligarchs, targeting Putin directly is an unusual move. It puts him in similar company with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, both of whom have been subjected to personal sanctions by the U.S. government.

Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said Friday that imposing sanctions on Putin “sends a clear message about the strength of the opposition to the actions by President Putin and the direction in his leadership of the Russian military.”

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Psaki said the sanctions will also apply to Lavrov and Russian national security officials.

The decision was made in the past 24 hours after consultation with European leaders, Psaki said.

Yet, unlike Europe and Britain, which did not impose a travel ban on the officials, the Biden administration is expected to prevent Putin from traveling to the United States.

Psaki would not comment on what impact she believed the sanctions would have on Putin’s wealth but underscored that it was a demonstration of unity in opposition to his actions.

Adam Smith, a former Treasury Department official who is now a partner at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, said the sanctions on Putin are a significant messaging tool because the United States has never taken such an action against the leader of such a powerful country.

However, he said that the sanctions were unlikely to affect Putin’s wealth or change his calculus in Ukraine.

“I don’t think Putin is really going to lose much sleep on being sanctioned,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, earlier today, Russian forces last night entered Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, as they continue their push to overrun the whole country and topple President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government.

This is coming just 48 hours after the invasion of the country by the Russian army on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.

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Also yesterday during a televised address, Putin urged the Ukrainian military to seize power from Zelenskyy, saying “it will be easier for us to make a deal with you than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis.”

On the same day, the federal government met with envoys of the G7 countries in Nigeria, and called on Russia to pull back its troops from Ukraine.

Reports yesterday afternoon indicated that the Russian forces entered the Obolon district in the north of the city, just a few miles from the centre of Kyiv.

The Ukrainian President had said he was the target of the Russian invasion, vowing not to abandon his country.

According to the BBC, the Russian forces in Kyiv massed around the northern district of Obolon.

Videos online show armoured vehicles rolling down almost empty roads in the district. There are also videos appearing to show fighting between civilians and people in military uniform.

Kyiv has also reportedly being attacked from the air, with residents taking shelter in underground railway stations.

City officials are said to have told citizens in the Obolon district to stay at home to avoid “active military operations”.

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Earlier in a Twitter post, Ukraine’s ministry of defence had appealed to the district’s residents to “inform us of troop movements, to make Molotov cocktails (firebombs) and neutralise the enemy”.

Also, the Ukrainian forces reportedly pushed the Russian forces back, having blown up the city bridge to stop their advancement.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow was ready for talks “as soon as the armed forces of Ukraine respond to our call and lay down their arms”.

The Russian government had also said Putin was ready to send a delegation to Minsk, capital of Belarus, for negotiations with representatives of Ukraine.

The development comes after the Russian leader held a phone call with President Xi Jinping of China.

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, said Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus, told the Russian leader he would “create the conditions” for such a summit.

Peskov said Russia did not intend to occupy Ukraine, saying their aims were clear –“demilitarisation and de-Nazification”.

Peskov added that the decision to open talks with Ukraine was in response to the request of President Zelenskyy.

“Following Zelensky’s proposal to discuss the neutral status of Ukraine, Putin can send representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Ministry and his administration for negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation,” the readout said.

The readout added that Minsk was chosen as the venue for the proposed talk.

However, as As pressure to capture Kyiv heightens, the Ukrainian government has armed volunteers at Kyiv with 18,000 machine guns and tasked them to defend the capital city.

Authorities have called on the population to resist the invading troops by all means.

The Interior Ministry adviser, Vadym Denysenko, stated that 18,000 machine guns “have been handed out in Kyiv to all volunteers, all those who want to defend our capital with weapons in their arms.”

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry had earlier posted a leaflet containing step-by-step instructions of how to make petrol bombs on its social media.

The Ministry of Defence and the Interior Ministry had sent an appeal to residents of Kyiv to inform the authorities of the movements of the invading troops.

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