The US president will travel to Europe today to announce additional sanctions against Russia. In addition to NATO and G7 leaders, he will also meet with the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson. Biden will make his first stop in Brussels. As early as Thursday, the US is planning to impose penalties on more than 300 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament.
‘No final decisions have been made about who we will sanction and how many we will sanction,’ said a White House spokesperson. ‘We will have additional sanctions measures to announce. These will be rolled out in conjunction with our allies on Thursday when the President has the opportunity to speak with them’. In addition to the joint declaration, Biden will also make a speech about improving energy security on the continent, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas.
Biden is flying to Brussels and Poland, which has taken in more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. He will advocate for sustained solidarity among Western allies. As the war drags on, Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has asked for more US aid and a stronger military presence on NATO’s eastern frontier. The US has already increased its regular presence by tens of thousands of troops.
In recent weeks, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania have all urged for a stronger NATO or US military deployment. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan suggested more help will be coming with announcements by Biden on longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture on the eastern flank.
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