Evening summary
It’s been a busy day in Washington and around the world.
- The supreme court confirmation hearing for Ketanji Brown Jackson concluded on Thursday, with judges and lawyers extolling her as a “brilliant” legal mind and exceptional jurist. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell announced he would not support Jackson’s historic nomination to the court in a sign of how difficult it will be for her to win Republican votes.
- The state department announced indictments against four Russian nationals for allegedly attempting to hack hundreds of energy companies in countries around the world. It comes as the US is on heightened alert for a cyberattack by Russia.
- Joe Biden met in Brussels with allied leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine. He warned Vladimir Putin against using chemical weapons and said Russia should be removed from the G20. If not, he said Ukraine should be added to the group.
- The US and its allies announced new sanctions on more than 400 Russian elites and institutions.
- The US will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who have fled their country because of the war. The White House also announced it will provide more than $1bn in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, helping its citizens access food, medical care and psychological treatment.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
That’s all from us today. For updates on Ukraine, please follow our global live blog.
Updated
US indicts four Russians on charges of hacking energy companies
The United States has indicted four Russian nationals, including three intelligence officers, for allegedly engaging in a series of hacking campaigns that targeted hundreds of energy companies and organizations in approximately 135 countries.
The alleged incidents cover activity from 2012 through 2018, but come as the US warns operators of critical infrastructure that to be on high alert for a Russian cyberattack as tensions between the two superpowers escalate in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian state-sponsored hackers pose a serious and persistent threat to critical infrastructure both in the United States and around the world,” said deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco. “Although the criminal charges unsealed today reflect past activity, they make crystal clear the urgent ongoing need for American businesses to harden their defenses and remain vigilant. Alongside our partners here at home and abroad, the Department of Justice is committed to exposing and holding accountable state-sponsored hackers who threaten our critical infrastructure with cyber-attacks.”
Updated
Earlier on Thursday, senators heard from experts extolling Jackson’s judicial record.
“Outstanding, excellent, superior, superb,” testified Ann Claire Williams, chair of the American Bar Association committee that makes recommendations on federal judges.
Of the nearly 250 judges and lawyers they interviewed about Jackson, Williams said: “The question we kept asking ourselves: How does one human being do so much so extraordinary well?”
McConnell’s opposition does not derail Jackson’s nomination. In the Senate divided 50-50, Democrats can confirm Jackson, who would be the first Black woman to sit on the supreme court, without any Republican support but were hoping she would attract bipartisan appeal. If the vote is tied, vice president Kamala Harris would cast a tiebreaking vote.
Updated
'I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson'
“I went into the Senate process with an open mind, but after studying the nominee’s record and watching her performance this week, I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the supreme court,” McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor.
His announcement was hardly a surprise. He did not support her confirmation to the US court of appeals, but his announcement on Thursday, the final day of her four-part confirmation hearing, is a signal to the rest of his caucus, especially members who may be on the fence or under pressure to support her nomination.
Explaining his decision he said it was because Jackson refused to “reject the fringe position that Democrats should try to pack the supreme court.”
His rationale is also important.
He first points to her refusal to answer direct questions about whether she supports “court-packing” – a proposal that has gained traction on the left to expand the number of justices on the supreme court. It’s a contentious issue, and nominees for the high court typically avoid taking positions on highly politically issues. Nevertheless, many Republicans uncomfortable with their colleagues’ dubious characterization of her judicial record as too lenient in sentencing child sex offenders have seized on the issue of court-packing as a reason to oppose her.
In his floor speech, McConnell said the late justice Ruth Ginsberg and the retiring justice Stephen Breyer had “no problem denouncing this unpopular view and defending their institution.”
“I assumed it would be an easy softball for Judge Jackson, but it wasn’t,” he said. Republicans have been trying to cast Jackson as the chosen nominee of the far-left as part of a broader strategy to tie Biden and the Democratic party to its most progressive flank ahead of the midterm elections.
He did cite her sentencing another factor, and used it to hammer Republicans midterm message that Democrats are “soft on crime” as violent crime rates rise in some areas of the country.
He also claimed that she was not forthcoming with her “judicial philosophy,” giving him reason to believe that she would be an “activist judge” on the bench.
Updated
McConnell will not support Jackson's supreme court nomination
This just in: Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has said he cannot support the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the supreme court.
.@LeaderMcConnell: "I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court." pic.twitter.com/iWkSBAmJmT
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 24, 2022
Details are still emerging – stay tuned.
Updated
The Guardian’s Dominic Rushe also wrote about falling jobless claims, providing context as to why many Americans are still unhappy with the state of the economy despite signs of economic recovery:
In April 2020, during the height of the first wave of the pandemic, weekly unemployment claims hit a record 6.6m and they stayed above 1m until August. But the remarkable recovery in the jobs market has coincided with soaring inflation and left many Americans unhappy with the Biden administration’s handling of the economy.
The majority of Americans (58%) surveyed for the latest Grinnell College national poll believe the economy will be worse a year from now and just 37% approve of Joe Biden’s handling of the economy, according to Gallup.
At least a dozen states are considering paying rebate checks of several hundred dollars directly to taxpayers to ease the burden of soaring prices for gas, food, utilities and other essentials.
A proposal from the Maine governor, Janet Mills, is among the most generous in a state where the cost of food and fuel has soared in recent months. The Democratic governor wants to send $850 to most residents as part of the state’s budget bill. The rebate “will help Maine people grapple with these increased costs by putting money directly back into their pockets”, Mills said.
Read the full article here.
Updated
The House committee that is investigating the January 6 Capitol attack will vote next week to consider contempt chargers for two aides of Trump, reported the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell.
The House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack will consider holding in criminal contempt of Congress next week two of Donald Trump’s most senior White House advisers in Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro, the panel announced on Thursday.
The move to initiate contempt proceedings against the two Trump aides amounts to a biting rebuke of their refusal to cooperate with the inquiry, as the panel deploys its most punitive measures to reaffirm the consequences of noncompliance.
House investigators said in a notice that it would consider a contempt report against Scavino and Navarro in a business meeting scheduled for next Monday on Capitol Hill, after they defied subpoenas compelling them to provide documents and testimony.
The select committee is expected to vote unanimously to send the contempt report for a vote before the House of Representatives, according to a source close to the panel, so that the Trump aides can be referred to the justice department for prosecution.
The select committee took a special interest in Scavino, since, as Trump’s former deputy chief of staff for communications, he was intimately involved in a months-long effort by the Trump White House to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Read the full article here.
Having said that NATO would respond if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine, but without going into detail how, Joe Biden was asked a follow up at his press conference in Brussels earlier.
A reporter for the US ABC TV network asked if Vladimir Putin using a chemical weapon would lead to a military response from the Nato partners. The US president first said it would “trigger a response in kind,” which made it sound as though he was implying chemical weapons in return, but he quickly pivoted mid-sentence to say simply that “we would make that decision at the time.
Biden also said he was committed to the idea that the US will play “a major”, and he emphasized the word, “part” in helping to resettle refugees streaming out of Ukraine in their millions, adding that neighbors such as Romania and Poland should not carry the task “on their own”. “This is an international responsibility,” he said.
He noted that over the decades as a senator and vice president, he has been to many parts of the world where refugees had fled war and seen “the blank looks” of terrified people not knowing where their future lay.
Here’s footage of Biden speaking earlier today in Brussels about Putin’s desire to break up Nato.
“The very thing that Putin has tried to do from the beginning, and I’ve been saying this since my days as Vice President of the United States, is to break up NATO,” said Biden, underscoring the importance of the Nato alliance and continued unity amid the Ukraine invasion.
“The very thing that Putin has tried to do from the beginning, and I’ve been saying this since my days as Vice President of the United States, is to break up NATO."
— CNN (@CNN) March 24, 2022
President Biden highlighted unity ahead of his meeting with European Council President Charles Michel. pic.twitter.com/i2sehGMw0L
Here is additional footage of Biden answering a reporter’s question about if Russia using chemical weapons would trigger a military response from Nato.
Biden says the U.S. and NATO will respond if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine https://t.co/KXBrSDaILG pic.twitter.com/AbcizRIshe
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 24, 2022
“It would trigger a response in kind,” said Biden, adding that Nato would make that decision “at the time.”
Biden says Russia should be expelled from G20
Biden also said today in Brussels that he wants Russia expelled from the G20 alliance, confirming that he has raised the issue with other world leaders, reports the Associated Press.
Biden made these comments following a series of Nato meetings amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Biden said that while he would prefer Russia to be removed from the alliance, if other countries disagreed, he would call for Ukraine to attend meetings with alliance members.
JUST IN: President Biden says Russia should be expelled from the G20 group of nations, and that if the other G20 nations don't support expelling Russia from the group, he will make the case for Ukraine to attend the meetings. https://t.co/juu6TV2k5X
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 24, 2022
Biden and other western allies also called for increased sanctions against Russia and more humanitarian aid for Ukraine as the conflict continues.
Follow the Guardian’s Ukraine coverage on the live blog here.
Updated
Linking up Donald Trump and Joe Biden, here, the current US president was asked about his one-term predecessor at a press conference following the NATO summit in the Belgian capital of Brussels just now.
Biden told the gathered journalists his familiar story of deciding to run for president this time after the violent and ugly far-right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the summer of 2017, during Donald Trump’s early months in the White House.
Biden recounted how the Nazi flags and hate-chanting reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s had sickened him when he saw white supremacists marching with torches and shouting in Charlottesville.
The far right crowds sparks widespread violence when counter-protesters turned out to demonstrate against their nationalist agenda, culminating a day later in a right-wing extremist driving his car into counter-protesters, injuring many and killing liberal activist Heather Heyer.
At the time, Donald Trump said there were very good people “on both sides”, which Biden said was the final spur he needed to decide to run for the White House in 2020.
Asked about the 2024 presidential election, Biden said he would “be very fortunate” if the Republican he ended up running against was Trump.
Updated
Trump sues Hillary Clinton over collusion allegations
Donald Trump today sued Hillary Clinton and several other Democrats, alleging they tried to rig the 2016 US presidential election by tying his campaign to Russia.
“Acting in concert, the defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty,” the former president alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida, Reuters reports.
The news wire further reports (links to relevant Guardian US articles/pages added by this reporter):
Trump, who beat Democratic nominee Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, alleges “racketeering” and a “conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood,” among other claims.
Trump’s allegations in the lawsuit are undermined by a 966-page report issued by a Republican-led U.S. Senate committee in August 2020. That report concluded that Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort and the WikiLeaks website to try to help Trump win the 2016 election.
Manafort worked on Trump’s presidential campaign for five months in 2016.
Russia’s alleged election interference, which Moscow denies, sparked a two-year-long U.S. investigation headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
In the lawsuit, Trump is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Trump said he was “forced to incur expenses in an amount to be determined at trial, but known to be in excess of twenty-four million dollars ($24,000,000) and continuing to accrue, in the form of defense costs, legal fees, and related expenses.”
Updated
Biden hints he may meet with Ukrainian president Zelenskiy
Joe Biden appeared to signal that he may attempt to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the embattled Ukrainian president, after the US president travels to Poland tomorrow.
We await clarification or further intel. But during discussion of his trip to Poland and meeting Ukrainian refugees, Biden just said at a press conference in Brussels after a Nato meeting that he would probably meet “with those who have made it across the border” from Ukraine.
And he added: “As well, I hope I’m going to be able to see Z… I guess I’m not supposed to say where I’m going am I?” And he chuckled softly.
Updated
Biden laments Russian 'carnage' and says Nato 'would respond' if Putin used chemical weapons
The US president is holding a press conference in Brussels now after his meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) colleagues.
Joe Biden lamented that “it is one month since Russia began its carnage in Ukraine.” But he said that Russian president Vladimir Putin “was banking on Nato being split, he did not think we could sustain this cohesion. Nato has never, never been more united than we are today.”
Biden was then asked by an Associated Press reporter who was called upon if he had military intelligence to suggest that Russia will use a chemical weapon in Ukraine. And if it did, would Nato forces respond?
The president said he could not talk about military intelligence.
And he then added on Putin and chemical weapons: “We would respond if he uses it. The nature of our response would depend on the nature of the use.”
He did not expand on that. The press Q&A is taking place now.
Updated
'Brilliant' Jackson 'unquestionably belongs' on supreme court – Schumer
On the final day of the Senate judiciary committee’s hearings on Jackson’s nomination, majority leader Chuck Schumer shared more praise for Jackson.
“Judge Jackson has erased any doubt that she is brilliant, she is beloved, and she belongs, unquestionably belongs, on the United States Supreme Court,” said Schumer, while also highlighting the next steps for Jackson’s nomination.
#SCOTUSCONFIRMATION: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says, "Judge Jackson has erased any doubt that she is brilliant, she is beloved, and she belongs, unquestionably belongs, on the United States Supreme Court." pic.twitter.com/YyQRjcgoKu
— Forbes (@Forbes) March 24, 2022
“There’s not a shred of doubt in my mind that she merits confirmation to the US Supreme court,” said Schumer.
Schumer also spoke on accusations Jackson faced during the hearings, including several Republican senators claiming that Jackson has shown leniency during sentencing of child sexual abuse crimes, but noted that Jackson “remained poised, thoughtful, and strong in her answers.”
Updated
ABA representatives testifying also addressed concerns raised by some senators over Jackson’s sentencing record, finding that there was “no evidence” to support claims that Jackson was lenient on child sexual abuse cases.
"We found no bias."
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 24, 2022
ABA officials address concerns with Judge Jackson's sentencing record. #SCOTUSHearing pic.twitter.com/TZbL106sy1
Ann Claire Williams, chair of the ABA’s federal judiciary committee, said that concerns about Jackson’s sentencing record on child sexual abuse cases “never came up” amid the 250 interviews with lawyers and judges.
“None of them felt that she demonstrated bias in any way,” seconded Joseph Drayton, the ABA’s lead evaluator for Jackson.
Drayton, who also emphasized the confidential interview process that those sharing experiences with Jackson go through, said he found “no evidence” of previously made claims that Jackson showed bias during sentencing.
Additional testimony came from American Bar Association (ABA) leaders who were tasked with interviewing members on their experiences with Jackson.
ABA representatives found that of the 250 judges and lawyers who had first-hand knowledge of Jackson, no one had criticism to share on the Supreme court nominee.
“It is surprising that unanimously the bar appreciates judge Jackson and sees that she has high competency, integrity, and temperament,” said one ABA representative who testified in front of the committee.
ABA Committee member says they were surprised to find zero criticisms of #KBJ "It is surprising that unanimously the bar appreciates judge Jackson and sees that she has high competency, integrity, and temperament." pic.twitter.com/QtZ222UtQG
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 24, 2022
Representatives found that those interviewed used terms like “brilliant,” “beyond reproach,” “impeccable” and “A-plus” to describe Jackson.
Witnesses and outside experts are now testifying to the Senate judiciary committee about the confirmation of Supreme Court justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Testifying against Jackson’s nomination is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall who seemingly dodged repeated questions on whether Joe Biden was the “duly elected and lawfully serving” president of the US.
Testifying against Judge Jackson’s SCOTUS nomination, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) repeatedly sidesteps direct questions from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) about whether President Biden is the “duly elected and lawfully serving” president. pic.twitter.com/9E28nkNzRP
— The Recount (@therecount) March 24, 2022
Repeatedly going back and forth, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island asks Marshall: “Is [Biden] the duly elected and lawfully serving president of the US of America?”
Marshall replies: “He is the president of our country.”
After Whitehouse repeats his question, he asks Marshall if Marshall is purposefully omitting “duly elected and lawfully serving” from his response.
“I’m answering the question. He is the president of the US,” says Marshall.
Today so far
I’m going to hand the US politics blog over to my Guardian colleagues now. Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Joe Biden is in Brussels, Belgium, for meetings with allied leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine. The US president participated in a “extraordinary” summit of Nato leaders and a meeting with G7 members. Biden said the Nato summit showed the alliance is “as strong and united as it has ever been” in the face of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine.
- The US and its allies announced new sanctions on more than 400 Russian elites and institutions. Among those sanctioned were Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, and 328 of its members. “They personally gain from the Kremlin’s policies, and they should share in the pain,” Biden said of those sanctioned.
- The US will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who have fled their country because of the war. The White House also announced it will provide more than $1bn in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, helping its citizens access food, medical care and psychological treatment.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Moscow’s stock market rallied after share trading resumed for the first time since the Ukraine invasion began nearly a month ago, although the US dismissed Thursday’s limited reopening as a “charade”.
The market initially rose by more than 11% when a limited, shortened trading session got under way on the Moscow Exchange. But the rally lost some momentum, with the Moex index of blue-chip shares ending the day 4.4% higher, on its first session since 25 February.
The US was scathing about Moscow’s attempt to restart equities trading.
“What we’re seeing is a charade, a Potemkin market opening,” said Daleep Singh, the US deputy national security advisor for international economics, referring to fake villages supposedly created for the Russian empress Catherine the Great to give the illusion of prosperity.
“After keeping its markets closed for nearly a month, Russia announced it will only allow 15% of listed shares to trade, foreigners are prohibited from selling their shares, and short selling in general has been banned. Meanwhile, Russia has made clear they are going to pour government resources into artificially propping up the shares of companies that are trading,” he said.
“This is not a real market and not a sustainable model – which only underscores Russia’s isolation from the global financial system.”
Read the Guardian’s full report:
Updated
The White House said the Russian economy may shrink by as much as 15% as a result of the sanctions imposed by the US and its allies in response to the war in Ukraine.
“To put that into perspective, that would be three times as much as the GDP declined after Russia’s debt default in 1998,” a senior administration official said on a press call today.
The official pointed to an analysis from the Institute for International Finance, which showed the sharp downtown in Russia’s GDP will wipe out the past 15 years of the country’s economic gains.
“If you consider the depreciation of the ruble already and the projected shrinking of its economy, it’s now looking at an economy half of the size that it was before this invasion. So it would fall out of the top 20 economies by ranking,” the official said.
The US and its allies unveiled a new set of sanctions today, targeting members of the Duma, Russian elites and some state-backed entities.
Joe Biden met with the Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Brussels, Belgium, today to discuss North Korea’s latest missile launch.
“The two Leaders discussed DPRK’s launch of a long-range ballistic missile, which both Leaders strongly condemned, stressed the need for diplomacy, and agreed to continue working together to hold the DPRK accountable,” a White House official told the press pool.
“President Biden conveyed to Prime Minister Kishida our rock solid commitment to the security of Japan and the Republic of Korea, thanked Prime Minister Kishida for Japan’s robust response to Putin’s war of choice in Ukraine, and agreed on the need for continued unity going forward.”
Experts believe North Korea launched its largest intercontinental ballistic missile to date, marking Kim Jong-un’s first use of the missile system since 2017.
The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, will extend his term by one year in response to the war in Ukraine.
“Honoured by the decision of #NATO Heads of State and Government to extend my term as Secretary General until 30 September 2023,” Stoltenberg said on Twitter.
“As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we stand united to keep our Alliance strong and our people safe.”
Honoured by the decision of #NATO Heads of State and Government to extend my term as Secretary General until 30 September 2023. As we face the biggest security crisis in a generation, we stand united to keep our Alliance strong and our people safe. https://t.co/06YkRkmX8J
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 24, 2022
Stoltenberg’s term was initially set to end on October 1, and he had been expected to become a central bank governor in his native Norway later this year, Reuters reports.
Joe Biden met with Stoltenberg in Brussels, Belgium, earlier today to discuss the war in Ukraine, and the US president applauded the announcement that his term had been extended.
“NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has done a remarkable job leading and strengthening our Alliance — particularly during this critical moment for international security,” Biden said in a tweet. “I welcome the extension of his tenure and look forward to working closely together in the year ahead.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has done a remarkable job leading and strengthening our Alliance — particularly during this critical moment for international security. I welcome the extension of his tenure and look forward to working closely together in the year ahead.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 24, 2022
The Guardian’s Virginia Harrison, Daniel Boffey and Julian Borger report:
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called for citizens worldwide to take to the streets “in the name of peace” and hold global protests against Russia’s bloody war, one month after the invasion began.
Zelenskiy’s appeal came as world leaders prepared to hold a series of emergency summits in Europe that aim to ratchet up pressure on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to end the war.
In a late-night television address from the emptied streets of his nation’s besieged capital, Kyiv, a defiant but visibly tired Zelenskiy said on Thursday Ukraine was “waiting for meaningful steps” from the three gatherings – Nato, EU and European Council – and listed some so-far unheeded requests, such as a no-fly zone, aircraft, and tanks.
Zelenskiy said, “Our firm position will be represented at these three summits. At these three summits we will see: Who is a friend, who is a partner, and who betrayed us for money.”
Read the Guardian’s full report:
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the new sanctions on members of the Russian Duma would punish lawmakers who have “supported the Kremlin’s violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
“President Putin’s war continues to inflict horror and widespread suffering on the people of Ukraine,” Blinken said in a statement.
“At the same time, in Russia, the State Duma continues to use its legislative power to target domestic dissenters and political opponents, disrupt the free flow of information, and restrict the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizens of Russia.”
Today, the United States designated 328 members of the Russian State Duma, scores of Russian defense companies and the head of Sberbank, a close ally of Putin. The United States will continue to raise the costs on Putin for his war against Ukraine.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 24, 2022
Blinken said the new sanctions on the Duma members, as well as other Russian elites and state-backed entities, will “complement the ongoing efforts of our allies and partners to hold to account enablers of this unconscionable war of choice against Ukraine and its people”.
“With our partners and allies, the United States aims to strike the heart of Russia’s ability to engage in warfare and carry out aggression against other countries, including Ukraine,” Blinken said.
“We will continue to impose costs until Putin ends this unprovoked war against Ukraine.”
Nato is 'as strong and united as it has ever been,' Biden says after summit
Joe Biden said that today’s “extraordinary” Nato summit on the war in Ukraine showed that the alliance is “as strong and united as it has ever been”.
“NATO leaders met today on the one-month anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine to reiterate our strong support for the Ukrainian people, our determination to hold Russia accountable for its brutal war, and our commitment to strengthening the NATO Alliance,” Biden said in a statement.
“We had the privilege of hearing directly from President Zelenskyy, and we will continue to support him and his government with significant, and increasing, amounts of security assistance to fight Russian aggression and uphold their right to self-defense.”
Biden is in Brussels, Belgium, today for meetings with allied leaders to discuss providing humanitarian and defense assistance to Ukraine. Biden applauded his European counterparts for their efforts to give military aid to Ukraine to push back against Russia’s brutal airstrikes.
“Between now and the NATO summit in June, we will develop plans for additional forces and capabilities to strengthen NATO’s defenses,” Biden said.
The president added that the US and its allies would work together “to ensure NATO is ready to meet any challenge in the new and more dangerous security environment”.
Updated
Joe Biden said the new sanctions on more than 400 Russian individuals and entities would further the west’s goal of making Vladimir Putin’s allies suffer financial consequences for the war in Ukraine.
“They personally gain from the Kremlin’s policies, and they should share in the pain,” the US president said on Twitter.
I’m announcing additional sanctions on over 400 Russian elites, lawmakers, and defense companies in response to Putin’s war of choice in Ukraine.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 24, 2022
They personally gain from the Kremlin’s policies, and they should share in the pain.
The US and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, and 328 of its members.
New sanctions were also announced for Herman Gref, the head of Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution. Gref has served as an advisor to Vladimir Putin for decades.
The Russian oligarch and billionaire Gennady Timchenko was also targeted by the new sanctions, as were his companies and family members.
Finally, the US and its allies have imposed sanctions on 17 board members of Sovcombank and 48 Russian defense state-owned enterprises.
“We are targeting, and will continue to target, the suppliers of Russia’s war effort and, in turn, their supply chain,” the White House said in its press release.
The Biden administration confirmed reports that it will accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians who have fled their home country because of Russia’s military assault.
“In particular, we are working to expand and develop new programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States,” the White House statement says.
“The United States and the European Union are also coordinating closely to ensure that these efforts, and other forms of humanitarian admission or transfers, are complementary and provide much-needed support to Ukraine’s neighbors.”
More than 3 million people from Ukraine have fled to neighboring countries, while another 6 million have been displaced within Ukraine itself. Joe Biden is meeting with European leaders in Brussels, Belgium, today to discuss, among other things, providing assistance to countries accepting refugees.
The US is also committing $11bn over the next five years to address global food security threats that may arise from the war in Ukraine.
“Russia’s war of aggression threatens to disrupt the supply of critical agricultural commodities from the Black Sea region, jeopardizing global food security, particularly for vulnerable populations in the Middle East and Africa,” the White House said in its press release about humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
The efforts to bolster food security will include “increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers, including women, through access to improved agricultural technologies and inputs, financing, and markets; strengthening agricultural market systems by building a vibrant local private sector; and improving people’s access to higher quality diets and safer food for improved nutrition,” per the press release.
US announces $1bn in Ukraine humanitarian assistance and new sanctions on Russia
The White House has announced plans to provide more than $1bn in new funding for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, and the US and its allies have also imposed new sanctions on Russia.
According to a White House statement, the US will provide funds to help struggling Ukrainians access food, medical care and psychological treatment. The US will also launch the European Democratic Resilience Initiative, which will deliver at least $320 million to Ukraine to “support societal resilience and defend human rights”.
The US similarly confirmed plans to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who have fled the country to escape the war. More than 3 million people have already fled Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the US and its allies announced new sanctions on more than 400 Russian individuals and entities, including the Duma and 328 of its members.
G7 leaders and the European Union are also launching an initiative to target sanction evasion among Russian individuals and businesses. The countries are additionally taking steps to prevent Russia from using international reserves, including gold, to prop up the country’s economy and currency.
Joe Biden is in Brussels, Belgium, today to meet with European leaders, and some of those discussions will likely focus on these new measures. Stay tuned.
Updated
US to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing war
The Guardian’s Chris Michael and agencies report:
The United States plans to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, two sources familiar with the forthcoming announcement said.
It was not immediately clear how the effort would work, including travel and immigration logistics.
Not all of the accepted Ukrainians will come through the US refugee program, one Biden administration official told Reuters. Others will come on family-based visas or another process known as “humanitarian parole”, which thousands of Afghans used to enter the US last year after the chaotic US withdrawal.
The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters onboard Air Force One as it travelled to Brussels that Europe’s refugee crisis was a priority for Joe Biden to address on his trip this week.
“Here Europe has really stepped up in a huge way and it’s the United States that will be coming with additional commitment on both humanitarian assistance and refugees tomorrow,” Sullivan said on Wednesday.
On 24 February, shortly before dawn broke in Moscow, Vladimir Putin made the latest in a series of televised addresses. His previous appearances had contained increasingly ominous tirades about Ukraine. Now here was the culmination: the declaration of what the Russian president euphemistically called a “special military operation”.
The goal, said Putin, was the “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine.
Minutes later, missiles were launched towards Kyiv, Kharkiv and many other Ukrainian cities. For the Ukrainians who woke up to sound of the impacts, and then for millions across the world who woke up to the news of Putin’s decision, the first reaction was shock.
Even those Ukrainians in government who had spent the past weeks rehearsing what to do in the event of a Russian attack were stunned when the invasion became reality.
“I had 10 minutes of panic when I was running around the house and I had no idea what to do. Then I pulled myself together and went to work,” said Natalia Balasynovych, the mayor of Vasylkiv, a town outside Kyiv hosting an airbase that was hit in the first hours of the war.
Before long, makeshift checkpoints were being put up across the country, volunteers flocked to sign up for territorial defence units, and even some pensioners got to work making molotov cocktails. At the same time, millions of people, mostly women and children, fled to the west of Ukraine, or crossed borders into neighbouring countries.
Read the Guardian’s full report:
Biden meets with allied leaders in Brussels to discuss war in Ukraine
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden is in Brussels, Belgium, today meeting with allied leaders and other European leaders to discuss the devastating war in Ukraine.
The US president sat down with the Nato Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, earlier today and will soon meet with G7 leaders and the European Council president, Charles Michel.
The White House said of Biden’s meeting with Stoltenberg, “They discussed the unity and strength of the alliance and Nato’s ongoing efforts to deter and defend against any aggression, and they welcomed the support of Allies for the government and people of Ukraine.”
Biden’s meetings in Brussels come as the world marks one month since the start of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine. In the weeks since, 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Ukraine, with about 3.6 million leaving for neighboring countries. Thousands have been killed, although the exact death toll is difficult to calculate amid the chaos of war.
Biden and his counterparts must now grapple with how to address a refugee crisis and a severely damaged country, as the war has come to a bloody standstill.
The blog will have more updates from Biden’s trip coming up. Stay tuned.
