President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. ET about “Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine,” according to the White House.
Biden is expected to announce additional sanctions against Russia in response to their further invasion of Ukraine, a large-scale military operation that has reportedly consisted of bombings throughout the country including in the capital of Kyiv, additional troops from Russia and Belarus moving into the Eastern European country, and cyberattacks.
On Tuesday, Biden slammed the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine and announced sanctions that included targeting both Russian banks and elites.
“Who in the Lord’s name does Putin thinks gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors. This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community,” said Biden in the speech, which followed Russian President Vladimir Putin recognizing the Donbas and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine as independent.
In response to the Wednesday night Russian military invasion, Ukraine has called on the United States and their allies and partners to impose further, harsher sanctions. For example, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Thursday for Russia to be cut off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, an international banking transaction mechanism.
Watch above.