President Joe Biden imposes economic penalties on Russia

            Protesters display placards in front of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.

When Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed forces to cross Ukraine’s border into areas held by Russian-backed rebels, the White House originally refrained from using the term “invasion”.

That changed on Tuesday, when key European allies said that Putin had crossed a red line. Putin stated on Monday that Russia recognised the rebel territories independence “in the borders that existed when they announced it” in 2014.

That is area controlled by the Ukrainian army. Putin also signed a decree allowing the employment of “peacekeepers” in that region, though Russian officials have yet to confirm that troops crossed the border in response to the directive. The issue is how far Biden will go in responding after openly admitting that Russia has once again invaded Ukraine. He has stated unequivocally that he would not deploy US troops into Ukraine, but on Tuesday he announced that he has ordered the relocation of US soldiers in Europe to three NATO nations that believe they are most susceptible to a Russian attack: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.