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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 23 March 2022
Biden to announce new Russia sanctions while in Brussels

By AAMER MADHANI dropped steadily, reaching
Associated Press 101,000 in 2005 and about
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- 64,000 as recently as 2020.
dent Joe Biden plans to Biden and NATO have said
announce new sanctions repeatedly that while the
against Russia on Thursday U.S. and NATO will provide
while in Brussels for meet- weapons and other defen-
ings with NATO and Euro- sive support to non-NATO
pean allies, according to a member Ukraine, they are
top national security aide. determined to avoid any
Biden, who will take part in escalation on behalf of
a special meeting of NATO Kyiv that risks a broader
and address the European war with Russia.
Council summit, is also ex- Polish leaders have called
pected to underscore ef- for a Western peacekeep-
forts to enforce the ava- ing mission to intervene in
lanche of existing sanctions Ukraine, a step that the U.S.
already announced by the and other allies worry could
U.S. and allies. lead to a broadening of
“He will join our partners in the war.
imposing further sanctions Sullivan added that Biden
on Russia and tightening will also “announce joint
the existing sanctions to action on enhancing Euro-
crack down on evasion National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, pean energy security and
and to ensure robust en- March 22, 2022, in Washington. reducing Europe’s depen-
forcement,” said White Associated Press dence on Russian gas.”q
House national security very vulnerable ally,” Sul-
adviser Jake Sullivan, who livan said of Biden’s visit to
declined to further preview Poland.
new sanctions the presi- Talks on troop adjustments
dent will announce. are already underway.
Biden is traveling to Brussels Last week, at NATO’s Brus-
and Poland — which has sels headquarters, U.S. De-
received more than 2 mil- fense Secretary Lloyd Aus-
lion Ukrainian refugees who tin and his counterparts
have fled since the Feb. 24 weighed what defenses
invasion — looking to press to set up on the organiza-
for continued unity among tion’s eastern flank, from
Western allies as Russia Estonia in the north through
presses on with its brutal in- Latvia, Lithuania and Po-
vasion of Ukraine. land down to Bulgaria and
In Poland, Biden will meet Romania on the Black Sea.
with Polish President An- The aim is to deter Presi-
drzej Duda, who has re- dent Vladimir Putin from
quested further U.S. aid ordering an invasion of any
and a stepped up mili- of the 30 allies; not just for
tary presence on NATO’s the duration of this war but
eastern flank as the war for the next 5-10 years. Be-
grinds on. The U.S. has al- fore launching it, Putin had
ready more than doubled demanded that NATO stop
its regular troop presence expanding and withdraw
of more than 4,000 U.S. its forces from the east. The
troops. Currently, there are opposite is happening.
about 10,000 U.S. troops in In just the past two months,
Poland. the U.S. presence in Europe
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania has jumped from about
and Romania have also 80,000 troops to about
called for a greater NATO 100,000, which is nearly
or U.S. military presence in as many as were there
recent weeks. in 1997 when the United
Sullivan suggested that States and its NATO allies
could be coming soon as began an expansion of
Biden plans to have talks the alliance that Putin says
“on longer term adjust- threatens Russia and must
ments to NATO force pos- be reversed. By compari-
ture on the eastern flank.” son, in 1991, the year the
“We feel that it is the right Soviet Union dissolved, the
place for him to go to be United States had 305,000
able to see troops, to be troops in Europe, including
able to see humanitarian 224,000 in Germany alone,
experts and to be able to according to Pentagon
meet with a frontline and records. The number then