Biden, NATO allies expand sanctions
BRUSSELS (NewsNation) — The United States will expand its sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, targeting members of the country’s parliament and the central bank’s gold reserves, the White House announced Thursday.
At the same time, Washington will increase its humanitarian assistance by welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and providing an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water and other supplies.
The White House announced the initiatives as President Joe Biden and world leaders gathered in Brussels for a trio of summits in response to the Russian invasion, seeking new ways to limit the economic and security fallout from the conflict.
Biden is set to hold a press conference from Brussels Thursday afternoon. NewsNation will livestream Biden's remarks in the player above.
NATO allies opened a trio of summits with a sober warning from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that the alliance must boost its defenses to counter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “respond to a new security reality in Europe.”
Stoltenberg commented as he called to order a NATO summit focused on increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the assault on Ukraine while tending to the economic and security fallout spreading across Europe and the world.
“We gather at a critical time for our security,” Stolenberg said, addressing the leaders seated at a large round table. “We are united in condemning the Kremlin’s unprovoked aggression and in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He said the alliance is “determined to continue to impose costs on Russia to bring about the end of this brutal war.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the day's first meeting, where he called for “military assistance without limitations." He pleaded for anti-air and anti-ship weapons, asking, “Is it possible to survive in such a war without this?”
“It feels like we’re in a gray area, between the West and Russia, defending our common values,” Zelenskyy said during the video address. “This is the scariest thing during a war — not to have clear answers to requests for help!”
While the West has been largely unified in confronting Russia after it invaded Ukraine, there's wide acknowledgment that unity will be tested as the costs of war chip at the global economy.
The bolstering of forces along NATO's eastern flank, almost certainly for at least the next five to 10 years if Russia is to be effectively dissuaded, will also put pressure on national budgets.
“We need to do more, and therefore we need to invest more. There is a new sense of urgency and I expect that the leaders will agree to accelerate the investments in defense,” Stoltenberg said before the summit.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said the U.S. wants to hear "that the resolve and unity that we’ve seen for the past month will endure for as long as it takes.”
Biden is scheduled to travel to Poland on Friday, where both issues are expected to be at the center of talks with President Andrzej Duda. Another significant moment could come shortly before Biden returns to Washington on Saturday. The White House said he plans to “deliver remarks on the united efforts of the free world to support the people of Ukraine, hold Russia accountable for its brutal war, and defend a future that is rooted in democratic principles.”
Sullivan said that Biden and fellow leaders would aim to “set out a longer-term game plan” for what forces and capabilities are going to be required for the alliance’s eastern flank countries.
Four new NATO battlegroups, which usually number between 1,000-1,500 troops, are being set up in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
All the while, national security officials from Washington to Warsaw are increasingly worried that Putin might deploy chemical, biological or even nuclear weaponry. Sullivan said the allies would consult on how to respond to “potential contingencies” of that sort.
Biden said this week that the possibility of chemical weapons use by Russia was a “real threat.”
Stoltenberg declined Thursday to discuss whether such a strike is a red line that would draw the alliance into war with Russia. “I will not speculate beyond the fact that NATO is always ready to defend, to protect and to react to any type of attack on a NATO allied country,” he said.
Biden arrived in Europe as most Americans want the U.S. to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, even if doing so would draw NATO into war, according to a new NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll.
Nearly 70% of those surveyed somewhat or strongly approve of the U.S. enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, compared to about 30% who somewhat or strongly disapprove. Only 10% of respondents strongly disapproved of the idea.
The NewsNation poll also shows Americans still don’t approve of the job the president is doing. But the mood of the country is its most hostile and aggressive yet against Russia, backing new sanctions.
Biden promised voters that he had the experience to navigate a complicated international emergency like the one unfolding in Europe and his trip will be the latest test of that proposition.