Russia-Ukraine conflict: Moscow warns against sanctions on Vladimir Putin

Tensions remain between Russia, NATO, and the US over the troop buildup in the border Ukraine shares with Russia. Moscow has pushed back against the warnings made by the US imposing sanctions against President Vladimir Putin should Russia attempt to invade.

Russia pushed back against warnings by the US of imposing sanctions on Putin should Russia attempt to carry out an invasion of Ukraine. They said that such moves against Putin would not be effective and will not help defuse the tensions surrounding Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the threats made by the US against Putin as worthless. Peskov cited that senior Russian officials are not allowed to have assets abroad.

“Politically, it’s not painful, it’s destructive,” said Peskov. The Kremlin has previously warned that any sanctions that would personally target Putin would be crossing the line and cause further strain on bilateral relations between the two countries. The speaker of Russia’s lower House also commented on Washington’s threat against Putin, saying that the US “wants a loyal Russian president that it can control.”

“The United States is not happy that under President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation has become strong and independent,” said Vyacheslav Volodin on social media.

Officials from Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany were already set to meet for discussions in Paris Wednesday in an attempt to de-escalate a crisis that stemmed from the troop buildup at the border. The buildup has since led to fears that Russia was preparing for an invasion.

Moscow denies planning such an invasion of Ukraine but has sent a list of guarantees it wants the US and NATO to fulfill. Among those guarantees include barring Ukraine from joining the NATO alliance.

The US and NATO have since responded to the list that Russia has turned in. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan has delivered Washington’s response to Russia. Blinken explained that the response offers Russia a “serious diplomatic path” to end the crisis.

“The document we’ve delivered includes concerns of the United States and our allies and partners about Russia’s actions that undermine security, a principled and pragmatic evaluation of the concerns that Russia has raised, and our own proposals for areas where we may be able to find common ground,” said Blinken.