Biden Stands Up To Putin With New Sanctions Amid GOP Cowardice

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President Joe Biden continues providing leadership against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

With announcements of the Russian annexation of four regions in Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia) after sham referendums in the regions, with fraudulent results showing overwhelming majorities of residents in favor of politically joining Russia, Putin seems desperate. Ukrainian forces are advancing in some of the areas the Kremlin now claims are part of Russia, but predictably the realities on the ground — and the compelled, manufactured nature of results from the referendums — didn’t change the outcome in Moscow. Armed men even showed up to residents’ doors in occupied Ukrainian territory where the referendums were conducted, collecting votes. Reports of residents in these regions facing demands to join the Russian military are circulating, and Putin asserted the status of these areas wouldn’t be a subject of potential negotiations.

“The United States condemns Russia’s fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory,” Biden said on Friday. “Russia is violating international law, trampling on the United Nations Charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere. Make no mistake: these actions have no legitimacy. The United States will always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. We will continue to support Ukraine’s efforts to regain control of its territory by strengthening its hand militarily and diplomatically, including through the $1.1 billion in additional security assistance the United States announced this week.”

How would the U.S. response look different if Trump was in power? His allegations the war wouldn’t even be unfolding if he was still president have no credible basis. “The Russia/Ukraine catastrophe should NEVER have happened, and would definitely not have happened if I were President,” Trump recently said on Truth Social, discussing the fate of Russian oil pipelines. “Be strategic, be smart (brilliant!), get a negotiated deal done NOW. Both sides need and want it. The entire World is at stake. I will head up group???” How are allies of the former president not humiliated and publicly gesticulating for forgiveness over an ex-president of the United States proposing his involvement in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine by posting “I will head up group???”? It’s not even grammatically correct! Trump sounds like a drunk uncle posting on Facebook — except, he’s a former president and could serve there again, depending on 2024 results. He didn’t even bother condemning Putin.

As for Biden, he continued: “In response to Russia’s phony claims of annexation, the United States, together with our Allies and partners, are announcing new sanctions today. These sanctions will impose costs on individuals and entities — inside and outside of Russia — that provide political or economic support to illegal attempts to change the status of Ukrainian territory. We will rally the international community to both denounce these moves and to hold Russia accountable. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment it needs to defend itself, undeterred by Russia’s brazen effort to redraw the borders of its neighbor.”