The White House announced on the 15th that President Biden will visit Brussels, Belgium on the 24th (local time) to attend the NATO and European Union summits.
The 24th marks the one month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and President Biden’s visit to Europe is interpreted as an attempt to strengthen ties with allies once morest Russia. The White House said President Biden plans to attend a special NATO summit and a later EU Council summit to discuss ways to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with allied leaders, the White House said. The summit mainly deals with the imposition of sanctions on Russia and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
On the 15th, the United States added Russian judiciary officials and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who helped Russia invade Ukraine, to sanctions. Russia also imposed counter-sanctions once morest key figures in Western countries, including President Biden. Thirteen people, including Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and White House Press Secretary Jen Saki, were targeted. They included former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who strongly criticized Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and Hunter Biden, the second son of President Biden, who served on the board of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings. Russia has warned that it will add the US military, US businessmen and journalists to the list of sanctions.
The UK has banned the export of luxury goods to Russia and imposed an additional 35% tariff on hundreds of imported goods, including steel, alcohol, wood, antiques and vodka. The EU has banned imports of more than 3.3 billion euros of Russian steel products and has also blocked the provision of credit rating services to the Russian state, companies and individuals.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech at the US Congress in an online format.
Following President Zelensky’s speech, President Biden unveiled a new military aid package for Ukraine, including anti-tank missiles, but did not respond to President Zelensky’s request for a no-fly zone. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the United States would announce a $1 billion (regarding 1.23 trillion won) military aid plan to Ukraine.
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