New Delhi: Amid the growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that the US has no intention of fighting Russia.
"We have no intention of fighting Russia. We want to send an unmistakable message though, that the United States, together with our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory and abide by the commitments we made to NATO. We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack against Ukraine. I hope I am wrong about that, I hope we are wrong about that, but Russia has only escalated his threat against the rest of Ukrainian territory including major cities and the capital city of Kyiv," Biden said as reported by news agency ANI.
In the midst of the war-like situation between Russia and Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognized the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.
Putin signed a decree recognizing the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR) and the "Luhansk People's Republic" (LPR) as independent.
Meanwhile, Biden said that Russia has started “an invasion” of Ukraine, and he declared sanctions on the major Russian bank VEB and its military bank, as well as on the country’s sovereign debt and three individuals.
Biden additionally declared that the United States would execute complete sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt.
“That means we’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western financing,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade its new debt on our markets, or European markets either.”
Earlier, Putin had urged lawmakers to allow the use of force outside Russia, on which the Russian parliament has allowed Putin to use the military outside the country. This approval could clear the way for a wider attack on Ukraine.