Personal sanctions against Putin possible if Ukraine is invaded

U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Jan. 25 that
Russian president Vladimir Putin would be sanctioned personally by the U.S. if
Ukraine were invaded. Biden also claimed that if the Russian forces assembled
moved forward, “it would be the largest invasion in Europe since World War
Two,” bbc.com reports.

U.K. Foreign Minister Liz Truss echoed the statement,
and said that for the U.K., nothing is off the table, including personal
sanctions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also broached removing Russia from the SWIFT
payment system, bbc.com reported on Jan. 25.

The statements came as yet another load of U.S.
weaponry was delivered to Ukraine. The Jan. 25 delivery included over 300
Javelin anti-tank missiles as well as SMAWP-D anti-fortification missiles.

The U.S embassy in Kyiv also held a virtual town hall
meeting on Jan. 25. While stopping short of telling attendees to leave the
country, embassy staff recommended that Americans in Ukraine assess their own
situation and act accordingly. The embassy is fully functional at this time,
but were an invasion “anywhere in Ukraine” to occur, the embassy’s ability to
function would be impeded.

James Hydzik: Biden previously reached out to Putin-the-KGB-agent by stating that
the U.S. would arm Ukrainian insurgents, of which the KGB has a collective
memory of fighting through the 1950s. Now, Biden, apparently backed up by the
U.K., is reaching out to Putin-the-magnate by stating that the U.S. will
sanction him personally. This will attract attention. It
might also push the Kremlin toward trying to foment disorder so as to create a
situation in which a pro-Russian leader within Ukraine begs Putin to bring in
the troops.