Kremlin Shrugs Off Threats Of Putin Sanctions As Ukraine Crisis Intensifies
According to RFE/RL, Britain and the United States have warned that they have not ruled out implementing sanctions directed on President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, a move the Kremlin said would harm diplomatic relations but not the president himself.
Russia has repeatedly denied it is preparing to invade its neighbour, but has amassed more than 100,000 troops, according to Western intelligence, near the border with Ukraine and has been holding a series of land and sea military exercises, sparking concerns it may be preparing for a further incursion into the country after seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
With both sides ratcheting up the pressure, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a rare threat on January 25, saying that he would consider personal sanctions against Putin in case of an invasion of Ukraine.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on January 26 that her country was "not ruling anything out" when asked if the United Kingdom would consider a similar move.
"We'll be bringing forward new legislation to make our sanctions regime tougher so we are able to target more companies and individuals in Russia. We will be bringing that forward in the next few days," Truss said on January 26.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on January 26 that individual sanctions against Putin would be "not painful (but) politically destructive," noting Russia's top leaders are legally barred from holding assets, property and bank accounts abroad.
The verbal sparring comes as diplomatic talks in Paris between Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France were held on January 26, and a day after the United States shipped military equipment to Kyiv. Truss said Britain was also supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine.
Biden consulted with allied European leaders earlier this week over the tensions caused by Russia's troop buildup, and the Pentagon announced it was putting up to 8,500 U.S. soldiers on "heightened alert" for potential deployment to bolster NATO's presence in the region.
Biden said he had "no intention" of sending U.S. troops into Ukraine but again warned Russia of severe sanctions if Moscow orders an attack.
NATO has about 4,000 troops in multinational battalions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland. They are backed by tanks, air defences, and intelligence and surveillance units.
Additional equipment, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, launchers, and other military hardware arrived in Kyiv on January 25 -- the third instalment of a $200 million package to shore up Ukraine's defences.
Russia says the crisis is being driven by NATO and the United States, accusing them of "escalating tensions." Although Russia denies it is planning an attack, it kicked off military drills near Ukraine on January 25 involving thousands of troops and dozens of warplanes.
The Kremlin has used its menacing troop buildup to issue a list of demands to redraw the security architecture in Europe. Among its demands are a commitment that NATO never admits Ukraine and a significant retreat of the alliance from Eastern Europe.
