Biden to speak on Russia and Ukraine amid pressure from Congress on sanctions – live | US news

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We also have a statement on Ukraine from Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader. It’s much more respectful of Biden than the remarks by Lindsey Graham, reported below.

Mitch McConnell. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Interesting (ish) sidenote: Joe Biden still calls McConnell a friend, despite the Republican’s ruthless approach to partisan politics which has included such highlights as committing to making Barack Obama (Biden’s old boss, lest we forget) a “one-term president” and blocking Obama’s pick, Merrick Garland, from even a hearing for a supreme court seat.

Biden does not still call Graham a friend, because of Graham’s loyal support for Donald Trump through thick and thin.

Anyway, in his statement on Ukraine, McConnell condemns Vladimir Putin and says “all the free nations of the world will be affected if [his] aggression is allowed to stand unchallenged”.

“The world is watching,” McConnell says. “Our allies, our adversaries, and neutral countries will all judge the west by our response – and plan their futures accordingly.”

Putin, McConnell says, “must be made to pay a far heavier price than he paid for his previous invasions of Georgia and Ukraine. This should begin, but not end, with devastating blocks against the Kremlin and its enablers. The president should waste no time in using his extensive existing authorities to impose these costs.”

McConnell also wants Nato and EU actions. He welcomes Germany suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which he says “must be turned into permanent cancellation”.

McConnell praises Ukraine for standing up to Russia, and concludes: “The United States and our allies across the world must fully acknowledge the growing threats posed by decades of Chinese and Russian military modernisation. We need to rebuild our atrophied ability to deter and defend against aggression by these adversaries. That means we must invest more robustly in our own military capabilities to keep pace. Our budgets have to reflect reality.

“America and its partners are strongest when we act together, but the collective response to these threats must be led by Washington, by President Biden and his administration.”

More on Biden and McConnell:

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