Biden Hits Out At Russia, Putin In State of Union Address, Military Offensive Continues In Ukraine!

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in his first State of the Union address today on March 2^nd and used a sharp vocabulary for Russia and its President Vladimir Putin in context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He said that Putin attempted to “shake the very foundations of a free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways”, but that he “miscalculated” and was met with a “wall of strength”.

Biden referred to Putin as a “dictator” and said that not stopping them causes “war and chaos”. He reiterated that the attack on Ukraine was “unprovoked”.

Russian Offensive Continues, 4 Reported Dead In Zhytomyr City

The parliament of Ukraine tweeted yesterday on Tuesday that a Russian offensive had begun in the city of Zhytomyr, targeting military bases and residential areas.

The russian occupation forces have just launched a massive missile strike on a military base and residential neighborhoods in the city of #Zhytomyr.
We’re pleading to the international community to help us stop these war crimes! #StopRussianAggression #StopPutin #StopRussia pic.twitter.com/Z633dwivki

— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 1, 2022

Interior Ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko informed on Telegram that four people had died because of Russian cruise missile strikes in the city.

On Tuesday, the Russian Defence Ministry also released a statement warning of “high precision strikes” in Kyiv aimed at the “Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the 72nd Center for Information and Psychological Operations (PSO)” and urged citizens to leave Kyiv who had been involved in “provocations against Russia” by “Ukrainian nationalists”.

Sanctions On Russia, Punitive Measures On "Oligarchs" Of "Violent Regime" 

The US President summed up the range of economic sanctions and other punitive measures enacted by the U.S. and its global allies:

 “Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been. Together, along with our allies, we are enforcing powerful economic sanctions, we are cutting off Russia’s financial system, preventing Russia’s Central Bank from defending the Ruble and making Putin’s $630 billion war fund worthless. We are choking Russia’s assets.”

He also said: “The Russian economy is reeling and Putin alone is responsible”. A spokesperson for the U.K. Prime Minister had said anonymously that the goal of sanctions is to “bring down the Putin regime” although he also said that “we’re not seeking anything in terms of regime change”

The United States has also announced that it is closing its airspace to all Russian flights, and in this address, Biden also said that its Department of Justice will “go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs” by assembling a task force.

The U.S.’s European allies will undertake to seize assets and luxury items of “Russian oligarchs”, which he termed as “ill-begotten wealth” obtained through a “violent regime”.

This comes after the United States expelled 12 Russian U.N. diplomats, alleging that they were committing espionage, to which Russia responded by calling it a violation of the host country’s obligations.

Rules Out U.S. Troop Deployment In Ukraine, But Reiterates ‘NATO Defense’

Biden emphasized again that U.S. troops would not be directly deployed in Ukraine, but said that NATO is stepping up its defense preparation in member countries. He said that he has mobilized “American ground forces, air squads, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.”

The U.S. and its allies have also been supplying weapons and military aid to Ukraine. On Monday, a deal was being finalized between European Union countries to supply Soviet-era warplanes to Ukraine, but it was not successful and was scrapped after 48 hours.

Until now, the United States has supplied over $2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine since 2014, and $650 million over the past year.

We are stepping up our support for Ukraine.

For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack.

We are also strengthening our sanctions against the Kremlin.
https://t.co/qEBICNxYa1

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 27, 2022

The European Union has allocated €450 million ($503 million) for war weaponry, in a step unprecedented in its own history, as noted by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on February 27^th: “For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack”.