(AUDACY/AP) - President Joe Biden has denounced Russian military action in eastern Ukraine "an unprovoked and unjustified attack" on the country. Russian troops launched a broad assault on Ukraine from three sides Thursday, an attack that brought explosions before dawn to the country’s capital, Kyiv, and other cities.
Ukraine’s leadership said at least 40 people had been killed so far in what it called a “full-scale war” targeting the country from the east, north and south. It said Russia’s intent was to destroy the state of Ukraine, a Western-looking democracy intent on moving out of Moscow’s orbit.
Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine, Biden said in a statement late Wednesday night he will announce additional sanctions to Russia on Thursday. Biden pledged the "world will hold Russia accountable."
"President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering," Biden said in a statement on Wednesday night. "Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way."
In announcing the military operation, Putin said it was necessary to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine. He said Russia would move to "demilitarize" rather than occupy the country, which he claimed was a puppet of the West. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video rejecting Russia's claims that the Kremlin didn't respond to his request late Wednesday night to speak with Putin.
Biden and leaders from the Group of Seven will meet Thursday morning, according to a statement provided by the White House. Later that day, the president said he will announce "consequences" the U.S., its allies and partners will "impose" on Russia.
Biden on Tuesday revealed what he called the "first tranche" of American sanctions on Russia, which included penalties for a pair of Russian banks, the country's sovereign debt and three individuals. Germany stopped certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, while the European Union, United Kingdom and other Western allies also slapped initial sanctions on Russia.
In Tuesday's speech announcing the initial sanctions, Biden reiterated concerns that Russia would launch an "invasion" of Ukraine, echoing recent predictions from U.S. and Western intelligence agencies that Putin aimed to topple Kyiv and the country's government.
"The sanctions will have an immediate effect on the Russian economy, and a long-term effect beyond that," Rep. John Garamendi, Chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, said of the sanctions Biden will announce Thursday during an interview Wednesday night with KCBS Radio's Kris Ankarlo and Megan Goldsby.
"The sanctions will definitely have an effect on the oligarchs and on Putin," he continued. "The oligarchs and Putin are basically the aristocracy of our new Russian empire, and their assets outside of Russia are going to be seized. They're going to be locked up."
Garamendi added there "certainly will be" effects on the West, including the U.S., but NATO must "stand stern now" in order to prevent "a world ruled by autocrats and dictators."
In his televised address, Putin said there would be "consequences they have never seen" for countries that attempted to interfere with Russian military action.
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