WASHINGTON(Washington Insider Magazine) – As Russian troops intensified their violent offensive of Ukraine, intending to seize the capital city of Kyiv, the Biden administration followed the European Union by sanctioning President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Putin has engaged in immoral violence against Ukraine, according to the US Treasury, which also named Minister Of foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov and several officials of Putin’s security council as targets of the sanctions.
According to NBC NEWS, the Treasury’s steps effectively freeze whatever assets or financial investments Putin or his closest aides may have in the United States.
After consulting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, White House press secretary Jen Psaki decided to pursue Putin’s assets. She further stated that the fines include travel restrictions.
Putin’s sanctioning is mostly symbolic. The Russian president has concealed his fortune, making freezing his assets impossible. When asked if the US knows where Putin’s wealth was on Thursday, deputy national security advisor Daleep Singh said, “Not going to comment on that.”
Putin’s personal fortune has been estimated to be in billions of dollars by some analysts.
Over the last several days, the Biden administration has ramped up sanctions against Russia, collaborating with European partners to implement steps in the hopes of preventing Putin from launching a large-scale war against Ukraine.
President Joe Biden imposed restrictions on some U.S. exports to Russia on Thursday, preventing Moscow from acquiring microchips and other technologies crucial to the defense, aerospace, as well as other essential industries. He also announced sanctions against Russian banks and individuals with close links to Putin, as well as the freeze of all Russian assets in the United States.
Biden sanctioned significant Russian financial organizations and elites earlier this week and pushed with allies to put a stop to the contentious Nord Stream 2 gas development.
However, their moves appeared to have had little effect on Putin’s decision to deploy Russian soldiers deeper into Ukraine late Friday, as Kyiv was shaken by bombings and air-raid sirens. To protect against the Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities urged residents of the country’s capital to make Molotov cocktails.
Biden talked with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy early Friday just after the Ukrainian president broadcast a video message in which he expressed his dissatisfaction with being “left alone” to battle Russia. Zelenskyy indicated in the video that he would stay in Kyiv and that he was Putin’s “No. 1 target.”
