President Biden traveled to Brussels Thursday to promote a united NATO front, hoping to convince America’s European allies to take tougher action against Russia.
“Putin was banking on NATO being split, Biden explained. “NATO has never, never been more united than it is today. Putin is getting exactly the opposite of what he intended to have as a consequence of going into Ukraine.”
Biden announced another round of tough U.S. sanctions against Russia–this time targeting 48 state-owned defense companies, 328 Russian lawmakers, and dozens of Russian elites.
He also pledged another $1 billion in humanitarian aid and $500 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
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During Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s address to NATO, however, he said it’s not enough and asked again for fighter jets and tanks to save his people and their cities.
“You have thousands of fighter jets, but we haven’t been given one yet,” Zelenskyy insisted. “You have at least 20,000 tanks. Ukraine asked for one percent of all your tanks. Give to us or sell to us.”
Stopping short of promising jets and tanks, NATO pledged to increase troop levels in Eastern Europe and send Ukraine more drones and anti-tank weapons. Also, detection and medical equipment will be provided to protect against possible Russian unleashing of biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear weapons.
Additional punitive actions are coming from the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations. G-7 leaders announced they’ll be restricting Russia’s central bank from using gold for transactions.
The leaders are also concerned about the massive influx of more than three-million refugees into Europe. President Biden said the U.S. will help take in 100,000.
“This is not something that Poland, Romania, or Germany should carry on their own. This is an international responsibility,” he said. “The United States as a leader, one of the leaders of the international community has an obligation to be engaged, to be engaged, and to do all we can to ease the suffering and pain of innocent women and children and men for that matter.”
NATO members are also expressing growing concern about Russian war crimes. Zelenskyy now accuses Russia of using phosphorous bombs against the Ukrainian people.
Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the U.S. government believes Russian forces are committing war crimes.
“Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime,” Blinken explained. “After all the destruction of the past three weeks, I find it difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise.”
And another recent alleged crime of concern? Ukraine says after Russia deliberately bombed that theater in Mariupol where children were sheltered, Russian troops started confiscating identity cards of people living in the besieged port city. The Ukrainians insist it’s all part of a plan to move them to Russia, and that, too, would be considered a war crime.
President Biden’s characterization of Vladimir Putin as a war criminal has caused Russia to threaten to cut off diplomatic relations with the United States. That action would be unprecedented. The official severing of ties between the two countries has not taken place since formal relations were first established in 1809.
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