US President Joe Biden has described the ongoing situation around Ukraine as “the beginning of a Russian invasion” but he says there is still time for diplomacy.

US Imposes harsh sanctions

Biden says America will sanction Russian oligarchs in retaliation for the country’s action against Ukraine, while also warning of further measures if a full-scale war does break out.

According to the president, the sanctions on Russia will be “far beyond” anything ever imposed in the past.

When Putin made his address, he called Ukraine a US colony with a “puppet regime” and now Biden has an unmistakable message to send back.

Biden says this is “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” as he announced harsh new sanctions to punish Moscow.

Biden says he will be full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions, cutting off Russia’s government from Western financing.

He says the US will target some members of the nation’s elite and block a vital European gas pipeline.

A Biden administration official says that the White House was “quite deliberate” on minimalising the disruption of US energy prices.

“The pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours,”

he says.

Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech on Monday a “twisted rewrite of history”.

The US will be deploying a thousand troops and several F-35 fighter jets to the Baltic members of NATO.

Biden says Putin “explicitly threatened war” and the President said that there’s no question that Russia is “the aggressor” against Ukraine. 

He wrapped his address by telling the world that there is “still time” for diplomacy to “avert the worst-case scenario” in Ukraine.

Foreign ministers unite

The European Union foreign ministers agreed on Tuesday to a sanction package to include “351 members of the Russian State Duma who voted for the recognition of the so-called LPR and DPR” and 27 Russian individuals and entities, according to High Representative Josep Borell Fontelles.

US President Joe Biden announced a “first tranche” of sanctions against two financial institutions, in addition to existing sanctions.

He also said the US will be sending troops to the Baltic states to assist NATO allies.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomes the latest US sanctions against Russia and says that Ukraine believes the time for sanctions is now.

“The world must respond with all its economic might to punish Russia for the crimes it has already committed, and ahead of the crimes it plans to commit,”

he says.

What you need to know:

– The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that it is pulling its diplomatic staff from Ukraine “to protect their lives and safety”. 

– G7 foreign ministers agreed to a “strong package” of sanctions against Russia, UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss said on Tuesday.

– Chancellor Olaf Scholz also announced that Germany is halting the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.

– Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK is imposing sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals.

– On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is considering breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia, according to the BBC.

Savannah Pocock contributed to this report