President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a broader set of severe financial penalties on Russia one day after they launched an attack on Ukraine, saying the invasion was playing out the way U.S. officials have been warning about for months.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a broader set of severe financial penalties on Russia one day after they launched an attack on Ukraine

  • Biden called the Russian invasion launched late Wednesday a “brutal assault” on Ukrainians without justification, labeling it a “premeditated attack"

  • Biden announced he would authorize more troops to be stationed in Germany as support, though he reiterated that American troops would not enter Ukraine

  • The financial sanctions all together amount to restrictions on nearly 80% of Russia's financial assets, the Department of Treasury said

Biden called the Russian invasion launched late Wednesday a “brutal assault” on Ukrainians without justification, labeling it a “premeditated attack.”

“For weeks, we have been warning that this would happen. And now it's unfolding largely as we predicted,” the president said.

“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences,” he later added.

Biden announced he would authorize more troops to be stationed in Germany as support, though he reiterated that American troops would not enter Ukraine but rather come to the aid of surrounding NATO countries.

The Pentagon later confirmed that they have authorized 7,000 additional troops to deploy in the "coming days" in order to "reassure NATO allies, deter Russian aggression and be prepared to support a range of requirements in the region."

President Biden on Thursday also announced sanctions that he said were aimed at debilitating the Russian economy while trying to minimize the impact on global markets.

“Putin's aggression against Ukraine will end up costing Russia dearly, economically and strategically. We will make sure of that,” he said. “Putin will be a pariah on the international stage.”

He said the purpose of the sanctions was never to stop an invasion but now to put Russian president Vladmir Putin and his country in a tough position: “This will take time, and we have to show resolve, so he knows what's coming. And so the people of Russia know what he's brought on them."

“It will so weaken his country that he'll have to make a very, very difficult choice of whether to continue to move toward being a second rate power, or, in fact, respond,” he later added.

The sanctions announced Thursday target Russian banks, oligarchs and high-tech sectors, Biden said. The United States and its allies will block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs.

They target the largest of Russia’s financial institutions, amounting to restrictions on nearly 80% of the country’s assets, according to the Treasury Department.

"We will limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen — to be part of the global economy,” Biden said.

He contended that the sanctions are designed to target Russia’s economy without hurting energy prices abroad or in the United States, though he warned Americans there could be a cost here at home.

“I know this is hard, and that Americans are already hurting. I will do everything in my power to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump. This is critical to me,” he said.

“But this aggression cannot go on answered. If it did, the consequences for America would be much worse,” he added. “America stands up to bullies. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are.”

The penalties fall in line with the White House’s insistence that it would look to hit Russia’s financial system and Putin’s inner circle, while also imposing export controls that would aim to starve Russia’s industries and military of U.S. semiconductors and other high-tech products.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.