Biden to announce new sanctions against Russia from Brussels

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to announce new sanctions against Russia on Thursday during his visit to Brussels to meet with European and NATO allies, according to a national security adviser.

Biden, who will participate in a special NATO meeting and give a speech during the European Council summit, is also expected to detail the work being done to implement the onslaught of existing sanctions that the United States and its allies had already announced.

“He will join our partners in imposing new sanctions against Russia and tightening existing ones to end evasion and ensure strong implementation,” commented White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who declined to comment on the new sanctions to be announced by the president.

Biden will travel to Brussels and Poland, which has received more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees who have fled the country since the Russian invasion began on February 24, with the intention of pressing for continued unity among Western allies at a time when Russia continues its brutal offensive against Ukraine.

In Poland, Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has asked the United States for more help and a greater military presence on NATO's eastern flank as the war progresses. Washington has already doubled its military presence of more than 4,000 soldiers. Currently, there are about 10,000 US troops in Poland.

In recent weeks, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania have also called for a greater military presence from NATO or the United States.

Sullivan hinted that this could happen soon because Biden plans to hold discussions “on long-term adjustments to the positioning of NATO forces on the eastern flank.”

“We believe that it is the right place for you to go and see the soldiers, can see humanitarian experts and can meet with an ally on the front line and very vulnerable,” Sullivan said of Biden's visit to Poland.

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Associated Press journalists Robert Burns and Colleen Long in Washington, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this office.