White House threatens Putin with sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine

The United States does not rule out the possibility of impacting the personal business and economic interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his entourage in the event of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this at a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday, January 26, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Any [new potential] sanctions package would be far beyond what was done in 2014, and that includes impacting business and economic interests of President Putin and the leadership of the Russian government," she said.

Psaki also stressed that U.S. policy on this issue remains unchanged, with the United States not ruling out any options to deter Russian aggression.

Read also: Finnish Foreign Ministry: It’s Russia that must take measures to ease tensions

The United States has repeatedly stated that it has agreed with Western allies and partners on "unprecedented" sanctions for Russia, which will form the basis of a "swift, severe and united" Western response if Russia launches a new invasion of Ukraine.

op