Ukraine invasion brings Russia, West face-to-face

The invasion of Ukraine has brought Russia and the West face-to-face as Western nations imposed sanctions against the Moscow administration, whereas, Kremlin threatened to impose retaliatory sanctions on the Western nations on the basis of reciprocity.

The United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, and New Zealand announced a series of sanctions against Russia targeting banks, oil refineries, and military exports as attacks continue in Ukraine and Russian forces press their advance on the capital Kyiv, Al-Jazeera reported.

Russia vetoes UNSC resolution

Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the country’s military aggression against Ukraine.

No other members of the 15-nation council voted against the resolution. China surprised onlookers by abstaining, rather than joining Russia in opposition to the resolution. India and the United Arab Emirates also abstained.

Russia presided over the vote because it happened to hold the seat of the presidency, which rotates among the council members, for the month of February.

In a tweet after the vote, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the members who voted to stop Russia’s “treacherous attack.” Russia’s veto “is a bloodstain on its plaque in the Security Council” and the world, he said.

Grateful to all members of the UN Security Council 🇦🇱 🇧🇷 🇫🇷 🇬🇦 🇬🇭 🇮🇪 🇰🇪 🇲🇽 🇳🇴 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 who voted to stop 🇷🇺 treacherous attack on 🇺🇦 & 🇺🇳 Charter. The veto of 🇷🇺 is a bloodstain on its plaque in the Security Council, the map of Europe & 🌎. Anti-war coalition must act immediately!

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 25, 2022

Kyiv fight

Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a Russian attack in the capital, the military said early Saturday, only hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow would attempt to take Kyiv before dawn.

Ukraine’s military command said areas near the cities of Sumy, Poltava and Mariupol were hit by air strikes on Friday, with Russian Kalibr cruise missiles launched at the country from the Black Sea.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin unleashed a full-scale invasion on Thursday that has killed dozens of people, forced more than 50,000 to flee Ukraine in just 48 hours and sparked fears of a new Cold War in Europe.

‘Harshest’ sanctions by EU

The EU added Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to its sanctions list over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday.

Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell made the statement after an agreement of in an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels held to formally adopt a broad package of sanctions on Russia that Borrell has called the “harshest” ever drawn up by the bloc, AFP reported.

The package of massive and targeted sanctions approved tonight shows how united the EU is.

First, this package includes financial sanctions, targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state owned companies, including in defence. https://t.co/iKVGfnafKp

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 25, 2022

The package, approved by EU leaders in an overnight summit, hammer Russia’s financial, energy and transport sectors, and curb the ability of Russians to keep large amounts of cash in EU banks.

It also expands the number of Russians on the EU’s list of sanctioned individuals barred from entering the bloc’s 27 countries and whose EU assets are blocked.

Two EU officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Germany and Italy had resisted putting Putin and Lavrov on the EU’s list. The only other leaders on it are Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But that reluctance faded on Friday as Russian forces kept up their pounding of several Ukrainian cities and tightened their noose on the capital Kyiv, as tens of thousands of Ukrainians fled their country.

The EU’s sanctions package — the second adopted this week as Russia’s went from threats to full-on military assault — comes into effect once it is published in the bloc’s Official Journal, expected to be late Friday or on Saturday.

The measures however stop short of kicking Russia out of the SWIFT messaging system used globally by banks to arrange transfers — a major tool that has been used to devastating effect against Iran.

Around 300 Russian banks use SWIFT.

US sanctions against Russia

Prior to the EU sanctions, President Joe Biden had unveiled harsh new sanctions on Russia on Thursday that is meant to punish the country for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin for his aggression even as he acknowledged it would take time for the new measures to alter Putin’s behavior.

“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said, laying out a set of measures that will “impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time.”

I spoke with the G7 leaders today, and we are in full agreement:

We will limit Russia’s ability to be part of the global economy.

We will stunt their ability to finance and grow Russia’s military.

We will impair their ability to compete in a high-tech, 21st century economy.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 24, 2022

The new sanctions include export blocks on technology, a centerpiece of Biden’s approach that he said would severely limit Russia’s ability to advance its military and aerospace sector. He also applied sanctions on Russian banks and “corrupt billionaires” and their families who are close to the Kremlin, according to CNN.

The new sanctions targets are not limited to Russia. The US also went after individuals in Belarus, including the country’s defense minister, for that country’s role in facilitating the Russian attack.

And Biden announced a new deployment of ground and air forces to NATO’s eastern flank, even as he reiterated US troops would not engage in direct conflict in Ukraine.

US assistance to Ukraine

The White House will ask Congress for $6.4 billion in supplemental funds for assistance to Ukraine, four sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Citing two of those sources, NBC reported that $3.5 billion would go to the U.S. Department of Defense, while $2.9 billion would go to the State Department and USAID. Some will go to the Commerce Department and Treasury as well.