Biden is ready to consider sanctions against Putin personally

U.S. President Joe Biden said he would consider imposing direct sanctions against President Vladimir Putin. NATO said it would increase the readiness of its forces and deploy additional ships and aircraft to Eastern Europe in response to a Russian troop buildup on the border with Ukraine.

Russia, which denies that it is planning an attack on Ukraine, said it is watching the developments with “great concern.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s position that the crisis was caused by U.S. and NATO actions, not a Russian troop build-up.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, in a televised address, urged his compatriots to remain calm and said that work was underway to arrange a meeting between him and the leaders of Russia, Germany and France.

Biden reiterated that he had no plans to send U.S. troops to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, but said he would consider direct sanctions against Putin and that a Russian invasion would have “enormous consequences” around the world.

If Russia were to move on Ukraine with all its forces, it would be “the biggest invasion since World War II” and “would change the world,” Biden said.

Answering questions from the press, Biden said he was prepared to consider imposing sanctions against Putin personally, should Russia invade Ukraine.

Direct U.S. sanctions against foreign leaders are rare, but not unprecedented. Such sanctions have been imposed, for example, on Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela), Bashar al-Assad (Syria) and Muammar Gaddafi (Libya).