US President Joe Biden has said that he will be meeting with the Leaders of the G7 later today and the United States and its allies and partners will be imposing "severe sanctions" on Russia following the Kremlin's decision to launch a special military operation in eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.
"President Zelenskyy reached out to me tonight and we just finished speaking. I condemned this unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces. I briefed him on the steps we are taking to rally international condemnation, including tonight at the United Nations Security Council," Biden said in a statement released by the White House shortly after his call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The US President said that Zelenskyy asked him to call on the leaders of the world to speak out clearly against President Putin's "flagrant aggression", and to stand with the people of Ukraine.
"Tomorrow, I will be meeting with the Leaders of the G7, and the United States and our Allies and partners will be imposing severe sanctions on Russia. We will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," added Biden.
Biden had earlier said that the "prayers of the entire world" are with the people of Ukraine tonight as they "suffer an unprovoked and unjustified attack" by Russian military forces.
He said that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen "a premeditated war" that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering.
"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. The world will hold Russia accountable," the US President had said immediately after Putin called on the Ukrainian military to immediately lay down their arms and go home.
"I will be monitoring the situation from the White House this evening and will continue to get regular updates from my national security team," Biden commented, saying that he and his wife Jill will be praying for the "brave and proud people" of Ukraine on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin dialled NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg "to condemn Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified attack" on Ukraine and discuss the Alliance's coordinated response.
"The Secretary and the Secretary General also discussed further steps to ensure the security of Allied territory, especially on NATO’s Eastern Flank. Secretary Blinken stressed that the US commitment to NATO's Article 5 is ironclad," US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Also Read: Russia launches military operation in Donbass, Putin urges Ukrainian military to lay down arms
