Blinken says Putin will "pay for a long, long time" for Ukraine invasion
Russian President Vladimir Putin will face long-term consequences if Russia carries out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
"We've made it clear that if Russia continues to escalate, if it engages in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, beyond what it's already doing, we'll escalate too. And I hope that that knowledge may still act as a deterrent. But if it doesn't, we've been clear that Russia will face massive consequences for its actions. And it will," Blinken told "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell.
"This is a price that Vladimir Putin and Russia will pay for a long, long time," he added.
President Biden announced economic sanctions against two key Russian financial institutions and several Russian oligarchs on Tuesday as Russia escalated its aggression toward Ukraine. Mr. Biden said the sanctions were only the "first tranche" and the U.S. was prepared to go further.
On Wednesday, Mr. Biden said his administration was also imposing sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was halted by Germany a day earlier. The pipeline would have brought natural gas from Russia to Germany.
Other U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, also announced penalties against Russia earlier this week.
"It's something we've been working on for months. Additional sanctions that are going to make it very hard for Russia to raise money around the world to finance its projects," Blinken told O'Donnell. "If this goes forward, what we have on the table, unprecedented sanctions, will have a severe impact."
Melissa Quinn and Kathryn Watson contributed reporting.