US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday (Local Time) met with President of EU commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels and showed US' solidarity with Ukraine saying the US and EU are united against Russia's 'unjustifiable war'.
Taking to Twitter, Blinken said, "Good meeting with @EU_Commission President @vonderleyen in Brussels. The United States and the EU are united in our support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and against Russia's unjustifiable war."
"As I leave Brussels this morning, we are united with @NATO, the EU, and our European Allies and partners in our support for Ukraine's democratically elected President Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian government, and, most of all, the brave people of Ukraine," he added.
Moreover, Blinken on Wednesday said the United States, in coordination with its allies and partners, is imposing additional economic costs on Russia and Belarus in response to military operations against Ukraine.
"We and our Allies and partners will work to keep people safe, manage the refugees, keep border crossings open, and provide critical supplies... We have now sanctioned most of Russia's financial institutions," Blinken said during the press briefing.
"In total 22 Russian defence-related entities will be designated, including compes that make combat aircraft, infantry fighting vehicles, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles electronic warfare systems. The very system is now being used to assault the Ukrainian people abusing human rights-violating international humtarian law," Blinken said.
He continued by saying that "We are also posing export controls on Belarus to hold Lukashenko (Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus) regime accountable for being a co-belligerent in President Putin's war of choice."
"We will choke off Belarus's ability to import key technologies. And if Lukashenko's support for the war continues, the consequences for the regime will escalate," he added.
Highlighting that all told these sanctions and restrictions have had a powerful effect on Russia's economy, Blinken said "The value of the ruble has plummeted. The Russian stock market closed at a sphere of capital flight rose. Interest rates more than doubled. Russia's credit rating has been cut to junk status, the value of President Putin's war fund has vshed."
( With inputs from ANI )
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