London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

Joe Biden unveils Russia sanctions as Putin sets rationale for further invasion

Joe Biden unveils Russia sanctions as Putin sets rationale for further invasion

President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon unveiled the ‘first tranche’ of sanctions on Russia after acknowledging that Russian President Vladimir Putin started an invasion of Ukraine and has laid the foundation to go further.


‘He’s setting up a rationale to go much further. This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,’ Biden said of Putin.

‘Russia has now undeniably moved against Ukraine. Today, I’m announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia.’

Speaking from the White House, Biden said the US is imposing ‘full blocking’ of two large Russian financial institutions.

‘That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western finance,’ he said. ‘It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.’

Biden also revealed ‘comprehensive sanctions’ on Russian debt and the nation’s elites and their family members.

‘They share in the corrupt games of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well,’ Biden said of the family members.

Biden warned that the US is prepared to step up sanctions against Putin.

‘We’ll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates,’ Biden said.

The US has joined its European allies in punishing measures against Russia. Germany on Tuesday said it will halt certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting it with Russia. The UK declared it would sanction Russian Parliament members who voted to recognize the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two pro-Russia separatist regions of Ukraine.

‘This is the first tranche, the first barrage of what we are prepared to do,’ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Parliament on Tuesday.

Biden acknowledged that the new sanctions could lead to higher gas prices for Americans and vowed to work to limit the impact at home.

‘Defending freedom will have costs for us as well and here at home,’ he said. ‘We need to be honest about that.’

Biden spoke hours after US principal deputy national security adviser Jon Finer officially referred to Russia’s troops deployment as an ‘invasion’ of Ukraine.

‘We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia’s latest invasion into Ukraine,’ Finer said on CNN’s New Day show. ‘An invasion is an invasion and that is what is underway.’

Finer added that sanctions the White House announced on the two breakaway regions were just the ‘beginning’ of the US’s response. They were issued on Monday after Putin in a fiery speech recognized the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

Two European officials on Tuesday said that Russia had ordered troops into Ukraine, but Russia’s Foreign Ministry denied doing so. While there was no clear sign of a huge Russian military escalation in eastern Ukraine, many Ukrainians fled the separatist regions by bus.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his country to ‘keep a cool head’ and insisted he would not yield territory to Russia.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
×