Russia faces more sanctions as security adviser admits Ukraine faces ‘hard days ahead’

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that new sanctions would be announced against Russia in the coming days — while acknowledging that the worst of the Ukraine war is likely yet to come.

President Biden is expected to meet with G7, NATO and European Union leaders in Brussels this week, when the allies will announce additional sanctions, as well as a tightening of enforcement measures for the existing slate of economic restrictions on Russia, the NSA chief told reporters at a White House briefing.

Sullivan declined to give further details, only adding, “We will have more to say on sanctions in the coming days.

“There will be hard days ahead in Ukraine — hardest for the Ukrainian troops on the front lines and the civilians under Russian bombardment,” he added.

“This war will not end easily or rapidly.”

The sobering assessment came the same day as reports that a Ukrainian counterattack had retaken a Kyiv suburb.

From Brussels, Biden will fly to Poland, where he will meet with President Andrzej Duda as well as with US troops stationed in the country to bolster NATO defenses along the Ukrainian border.