From missiles worth $350m to ban on Russian banks: How US responded to Ukraine crisis
US President Joe Biden approved military assistance worth $350 million to war-ravaged Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion. As soon as Pentagon gave a go-ahead on the order, tons of military hardware was shipped to Ukraine overnight on an urgent basis. Pentagon official John Kirby confirmed on Saturday, February 26, that the famous Javelin anti-tank missiles were also among the military equipment sent to Ukraine.
Both Biden and European Union (EU) are resorting to the "financial nuclear option" and removing Russian banks from the SWIFT network. At the same time, the US and its allies are imposing restrictions on the Russian Central Bank in a bid to isolate and handicap the country economically. Meanwhile, pubs and liquor stores across the US are enacting a strict ban on Russian vodka in solidarity with Ukraine. Liquor stores in Canada have also pulled Russian vodka from the shelves and are offering premium Ukrainian vodka instead.
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Reportedly, Ukraine sought military assistance from the US with more Javelins and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to combat Russian tanks, bombers, helicopters, and missiles. Two days prior, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov appealed, "We need as much Stinger and anti-tank weapons as possible. In order to provide for reliable procurement of equipment, you may deliver it to Poland. From there we will transport them across the land and quickly saturate our defense."
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stated on Saturday that the military hardware for Ukraine is being sourced from US inventories and includes "anti-armor, small arms and various munitions, body armor, and related equipment in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack."
Kirby further addressed the Russian occupation of Ukrainian airspace, as he revealed, "We’re going to look for additional venues to do that, especially now given that the president has authorized another $350 million worth of assistance. We’re going to do everything we can to get that into the hands of the Ukrainians."
Meanwhile, the US, Canada, and their European allies France, Germany, UK, and Italy, have pledged to isolate Russia from the world markets. "We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin," the countries said in a joint statement.
A senior official from the Biden administration declared that a task force is also being set up to target Russian oligarchs with "yachts and luxury apartments", who send their children to fancy colleges in the West.
"'This coming week, we will launch a multilateral transatlantic task force to identify, hunt down and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies, oligarchs, their yachts, and their mansions and any ill-gotten gains that we can find and freeze under the law," he noted. The idea was to depreciate the Ruble and cause high inflation in the Russian economy.