[Biden tells Putin 'now is the time
to de-escalate' at the Ukrainian border
and 'refrain from military action' after he
closed Kerch Strait to stop all foreign
warships from accessing the region
President Biden warned Vladimir Putin
it was time to de-escalate in the Ukraine
He said U.S. sanctions could have been much worse
'I was clear with President Putin
we could have gone further, but I chose
not to do so,' he said
Biden cancelled the deployment
of two US warships from the Black Sea
amid the troop build-up in Ukraine
Washington announced the U-turn after
the Kremlin warned D.C.to stay away
'for their own good'
'We have no desire to be in an
escalating war with Russia,'
a senior administration official said
Hours later, Putin took advantage
of Biden's U-turn back by closing off
the Kerch Strait
The move blocks any access to foreign
warships to the Crimea until October 2021
The Biden administration on Thursday
announced sweeping new sanctions
on Russian interference
Sanctions were imposed on
'eight individuals and entities' associated
with the 'ongoing repression in Crimea'
The White House also denounced
Moscow for offering the Taliban bounties
for U.S. troops in Afghanistan
Administration formally blamed Moscow
for SolarWinds hack and accused
Moscow of still trying to hack American targets]
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...an-border.html