Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday vowed there would be a “swift, severe and united” response if Russia invades Ukraine and assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the US “stands with Ukraine.”
In remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Harris laid out retaliatory measures in a manner befitting her past career as a prosecutor, promising “significant and unprecedented” economic costs.
“We will impose far-reaching financial sanctions and export controls. We will target Russia’s financial institutions and key industries. And we will target those who are complicit and those who aid and abet this unprovoked invasion,” Harris said as she took center stage at the security conference, which is taking place as the brewing conflict between Russia and Ukraine reaches a boiling point.
The vice president continued, “Make no mistake: The imposition of these sweeping and coordinated measures will inflict great damage on those who must be held accountable.”
In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Saturday after he met with Harris, Zelensky said any list of sanctions on Russia should be made public before an invasion of Ukraine occurs.
“We don’t need your sanctions after the bombardment will happen and after our country will be fired at or after we will have no borders, or after we will have no economy … why would we need those sanctions then?” he said.
