Congressional Intelligence Committee Considers Preventive Sanctions Against Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

 

 The chairman of the intelligence committee of the US House of Representatives, Adam Schiff, who is also one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, warned of the high probability of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which can be stopped only with severe sanctions, writes The Guardian.

"I am afraid Putin will invade. Honestly, I still don't understand the full motivation why he's doing this now, but he's definitely determined to do it if we can't convince him otherwise, "the US congressman said on Sunday about the possibility of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 To convince Russian President Vladimir Putin "the opposite", according to Schiff, "nothing but a level of sanctions that Russia has never seen" will help. The politician noted that he also approved the idea of ​​imposing personal restrictions on the Russian leader, but stressed the importance of "sectoral sanctions".

At the same time, the head of the intelligence committee called on the American allies to act as a united front with the United States on the issue of anti-Russian sanctions. "Russia needs to understand that we are united in this," the politician added.

 In addition to sanctions, Schiff said the invasion of Ukraine could lead to what Moscow is trying to prevent - the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to Russia's borders. "They need to understand that if they invade, NATO will not only not move away from it, but on the contrary, it will get closer," and this, according to the congressman, is "a powerful deterrent."

As The Guardian recalls, later on Sunday the White House announced that US President Joe Biden had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky.

 "President Biden has made it clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia invades Ukraine in the future," said Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, Kiev believes the talks "prove the special nature of relations" with Washington. On his Twitter page, Zelensky noted that during the conversation the leaders discussed joint actions of Ukraine, the United States and partners "to maintain peace in Europe, prevent further escalation of tensions, reforms and de-oligarchization," emphasizing that Ukraine appreciates the "unshakable support" of the United States.