Harris plans to meet with Ukraine President Zelensky today
Harris laid out retaliatory measures in a manner befitting her past career as a prosecutor, promising “significant and unprecedented” economic costs.
The vice president continued: “Make no mistake: The imposition of these sweeping and coordinated measures will inflict great damage on those who must be held accountable.”
The US intends to sanction elite Russian government officials and business leaders if Russia invades Ukraine, CNN has reported. Biden has said he would consider sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. But the Biden administration has not revealed the names of those it is looking to sanction.
The move would make it nearly impossible for financial institutions to send money in or out of Russia, which would deliver a shock to Russian companies and their customers abroad. If Russia is cut off from SWIFT, senior Russian lawmakers have said shipments of oil, gas and metals to Europe would stop.
The remarks came at a high-stakes moment after the United States’ repeated warnings on Friday of efforts by Russia to mount an invasion.
“Not since the end of the Cold War has this forum convened under such dire circumstances,” Harris said. “Today, as we are all well aware, the foundation of European security is under direct threat in Ukraine.”
The vice president emphasized the importance of international organizations, institutions, laws and treaties that she reiterated have led to “unprecedented peace, security and prosperity” in Europe in the wake of two world wars. Harris stressed that at the heart of these defining principles is the belief that the sovereignty of nations must be respected, that nations have the right to choose their own governments and alliances, and “national borders should not be changed by force.”
“In the face of Russian aggression, I have been reassured and heartened by the widespread agreement across the trans-Atlantic community that these rules and norms will be defended,” Harris said.
Harris emphasized the US maintains an “ironclad” commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which says if any NATO member is attacked that every other member of the alliance will consider it an attack against all members and will take any swift action to retaliate.
“We will not stop with economic measures,” Harris said. “We will further reinforce our NATO allies on the eastern flank.”
Biden formally approved the deployment of 3,000 US troops to Poland, Germany and Romania in order to bolster NATO countries in Eastern Europe as tens of thousands of Russian troops are amassed along Ukraine’s border. The President has stressed these troops will not be deployed to fight inside Ukraine and are instead there to show support to NATO allies feeling threatened by Russia’s military moves.
“Today, the United States, our allies and our partners are closer together,” Harris said.
The vice president’s emphasis on Russia-Ukraine tensions follows several efforts by the United States on Friday to publicize Russia’s aggressive actions in the region and attempt to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine under the guise of false pretenses.
It was a major rhetorical shift for the President, who had previously indicated that he believed Putin had not yet made up his mind about an invasion. Still, Biden emphasized on Friday, there was room for diplomacy.
Russian misinformation is building up to a false justification for Putin to order an invasion, Biden said, accusing Russia of cease fire violations in the “rapidly escalating crisis.”
The White House on Friday also blamed Russia for a massive cyberattack on Ukraine earlier in the week and warned that Russia could face extensive sanctions if it invades Ukraine, with Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economics and deputy director of the National Economic Council, calling them “the most severe measures we’ve ever contemplated against Russia.”
Harris is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky later on Saturday, and will also meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Despite the US’ assessment of an imminent invasion of Ukraine, Biden said on Friday that it would be up to Zelensky to decide whether he will attend this weekend’s security conference in Germany.
A senior Ukrainian official told CNN that Zelensky was still planning to travel to Munich and back on the same day. But he added that the “security situation will be reassessed in morning.”
The official previewing the vice president’s weekend plans said of Zelensky’s decision on whether to travel: “That’s really his call. It’s really up to him to decide where he needs to be.”
Asked specifically if they were concerned, the official said, flatly, “No.”
CNN’s Maegan Vazquez contributed to this report.
