At his State of the Union speech, US President Joe Biden highlighted the bravery of Ukrainian defenders and the commitment of a newly reinvigorated Western alliance that has worked to rearm the Ukrainian military and cripple Russia’s economy through sanctions.
He warned of costs to the American economy, as well, but warned ominously that without consequences, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression wouldn’t be contained to Ukraine.
“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,” Biden said. “They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising.”
As Biden spoke, Russian forces were escalating their attacks in Ukraine, having bombarded the central square of country’s second-biggest city and Kyiv’s main TV tower, killing at least five people. The Babi Yar Holocaust memorial was also damaged.
Here is a list of responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine announced so far:
Release of $350m (£263m) worth of weapons to Ukraine
Supplies worth $54m (£41m) in humanitarian assistance
Removing selected Russian banks from the global Swift messaging system
Restricting the Russian central bank from defending the rouble
Joining a trans-Atlantic task force to freeze and seize oligarchs' assets
Closing off US airspace to Russian owned and operated aircraft
The White House has also asked Congress for an additional $6.4bn (£4.8bn) in emergency assistance over the next few months.
However, Biden again emphasised that the US would not send troops to engage with Russians in Ukraine.
An attack against any Nato country is an attack against all - the foundational Article 5 commitment that binds all members to defend one another.
But Ukraine is not a member of Nato, a factor that's been cited by Blinken to explain why the Americans will not fight for the values they so strenuously extol. There is a certain irony here, given that the conflict is about Putin's demands for guarantees that Ukraine never be allowed to join the military alliance, and Nato's refusal to give them.
