Ukraine Crisis, President Biden Does Not Hesitate To Impose Personal Sanctions On President Putin

President Joe Biden and President Vladimir Putin meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would consider personal sanctions against President Vladimir Putin if Russia invaded Ukraine, as Western leaders step up military preparations and make plans to protect Europe from potential energy supply shocks.

The rare threat of sanctions comes as NATO puts troops on alert, bolstering eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response, as Russian troops add to near its border with Ukraine.

Russia denies planning an attack and says the crisis was prompted by NATO and US actions. They demand security guarantees from the West, including a NATO pledge never to recognize Ukraine. Moscow sees the former Soviet republic as a buffer between Russia and NATO countries.

Following several rounds of US-Russian talks on Ukraine that failed to reach a breakthrough, President Biden, who has long warned Moscow of the economic consequences, upped the 'bet' on Tuesday saying President Putin could personally face sanctions.

If Russia 'entered' Ukraine with an estimated 100.000 troops already gathered near the border, President Biden said it would be the "biggest invasion since World War Two" and would "change the world."

Speaking to reporters, President Biden was asked if he would see himself imposing sanctions directly on President Putin if Russia invaded Ukraine.

"Yes," he answered. "I'll see," Reuters quoted as saying on January 26.

Direct US sanctions against foreign leaders are rare. Others who have faced sanctions include Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, and Libya's Muammer Gaddafi.

President Biden said Tuesday he could deploy US troops in the near future but ruled out a unilateral US troop deployment to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

"There will be no American troops moving into Ukraine," he stressed.

It is known, the Pentagon has alerted about 8.500 US troops in Europe and the United States to be ready to deploy to the eastern wing of NATO if needed.

So far, NATO has around 4.000 troops in multinational battalions in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, supported by tank, air defense, and intelligence and surveillance units.

On Tuesday, a US plane carrying military equipment and ammunition landed in Kyiv, the third batch of a $200 million package to shore up Ukraine's defenses.