US readies Russia sanctions as Guardsmen train Ukraine military

The United States has tailored a list of Russian officials in or near President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle to target with sanctions if Moscow goes ahead with an invasion of Ukraine, the White House confirmed Monday.

“We’ve developed specific sanctions packages for both Russian elites and their family members if Russia further invades Ukraine,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during her regular briefing.

The potential sanctions, which were first reported by Reuters Monday, would affect Russians with particularly strong financial ties to the West that could make them more vulnerable to penalties.

“The individuals we have identified are in or near the inner circles of the Kremlin and play a role in government decision making or are at a minimum complicit in the Kremlin’s destabilizing behavior,” Psaki added.

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In addition to individuals, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday the US is also looking at sanctioning Russian banks, government-backed companies and the country’s import sector.

The US has repeatedly vowed to hit Russia with “severe” economic penalties if it chooses to invade Ukraine. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied it has any ambition of attacking its western neighbor and has decried Western concerns as “hysteria.”

Meanwhile, Washington has stepped up its military aid to Ukraine. New photos published Monday show an American military instructor demonstrating the proper use of a missile launcher. Other images showed civilians training with wooden prop guns to defend the capital city of Kiev.

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There are currently about 200 members of the Florida National Guard in Ukraine in a training and advisory capacity. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Thursday that no decision had been made about moving those forces out of the country.

“If and when we believe that for that safety and security, a decision needs to be made about moving them, the secretary will not hesitate to do so,” Kirby told reporters, referring to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “I wouldn’t get ahead of decisions that haven’t been made yet.”

“In the event that they had to be moved, we believe that can be done in a fairly expeditious manner,” Kirby added.

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In recent weeks, the US has remained adamant that an invasion could be “imminent,” with the top American military officer warning Friday that Russia could attack with “very, very little warning.”

“This is larger in scale and scope in the massing of forces than anything we have seen in recent memory, and I think you’d have to go back quite a while into the Cold War days to see something of this magnitude,” said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “They do annual exercises and we watch those closely, but this is different.” 

Ukraine’s government has appeared to play down the potential invasion threat, with the country’s president suggesting Friday the West was creating a “panic” in his country.

“Do we have tanks on the streets? No. When you read media, you get the image that we have troops in the city, people fleeing … That’s not the case,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a news conference. 

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“I’m the president of Ukraine and I’m based here and I think I know the details better here,” he added.