US Senator Robert Menendez, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, proposed imposing sanctions against Russia in the event of an “invasion of Ukraine.” About it informs Axios portal citing congressional defense budget amendment.
The publication noted that the amendment was formulated in such a way as to leave room for maneuver in the definition of the very term “invasion”.
According to the congressman’s idea, US President Joe Biden will have to prohibit leading Russian military and intelligence personnel from entering the United States, as well as introduce a number of restrictions on Russian banks, government agencies, oil and gas companies and mining enterprises.
Among other things, all companies and persons involved in the planning of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline may be sanctioned. The senator also proposed to introduce restrictive measures in relation to the primary and secondary placement of Russia’s sovereign debt.
In addition, Menendez’s project involves increasing military assistance to Ukraine.
On November 15, the special services of Western countries warned Kiev about an allegedly impending aggression by Russia in an attempt to destabilize the situation in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar clarified that Russia is likely to attempt an invasion this winter.
Western countries have recently announced an increase in the number of Russian troops near the border of Ukraine. The Washington Post wrote that the recorded transfer of part of the equipment to the border with Ukraine and “unusual movements of equipment and military on the western flank of Russia” are of concern to the United States.
On November 2, the American publication Politico published satellite images that allegedly depict the deployment of the Russian military “on the border with Ukraine.” However, these frames depict the area of the city of Yelnya in the Smolensk region – which does not have a common border with Ukraine and only borders on Belarus. Nevertheless, according to the newspaper, units, including the “elite 1st Guards Tank Army”, moved to the Yelnya area at the end of September from places of permanent deployment in other regions of Russia.
Vladimir Putin has previously evaluated data on the alleged preparation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He called them “alarmist statements” and admitted that he had not seen them yet. He added that the United States and its NATO allies are currently conducting unplanned exercises in the Black Sea. In his opinion, they pose a challenge for Russia, but she is not going to aggravate the situation.
Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, also stated that there was no evidence of the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine.
Earlier it was reported that the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov and members of the Ukrainian delegation during a working visit to Washington met with US Senator James Ingof. During the meeting, they discussed the situation on the Ukrainian border and in the “temporarily occupied by Russia” territories, and also touched upon the topic of threats “arising from the de facto Anschluss of Belarus.” Reznikov stressed that Kiev expects Washington to be “stronger” on security issues and asked for more American military assistance.
It also became known that the British Ministry of Defense signed an agreement to strengthen the naval potential of Ukraine and agreed to sell warships and missiles to Kiev due to growing tensions with Moscow.
The new agreement, signed by Defense Minister Ben Wallace, provides for the supply of two mine action vessels, the joint production of eight missile ships, as well as the delivery and modernization of weapons systems to existing vessels.
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