Joe Biden refuses to say why US is not personally sanctioning Putin after Ukraine invasion

Joe Biden has refused to say why the US is not personally sanctioning Vladimir Putin after he Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday afternoon, just hours after Russia started attacking cities across Ukraine, Mr Biden announced a set of sanctions against Russia that he claimed would be as damaging as the bombs and bullets being fired by Russian forces.

Yet when he was asked why the US was not personally sanctioning Mr Putin and whether a promise to do so was a “bluff”, he struggled to answer.

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