[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Josel Gina] Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed caution ahead of additional Western economic sanctions on the 24th (local time), while asserting that Russia's military operation in Ukraine was an unavoidable measure.
According to CNN and others, President Putin said at a meeting with representatives of domestic companies, "The first thing I want to say is that the ongoing operation (military operation) was an unavoidable measure," adding, "We had no other option but to act."
He justified the start of Russia's military operation by saying, "We were subjected to security threats to the extent that we could not respond," and "All our efforts were in vain."
President Putin also showed caution regarding the West, including the United States, which has announced harsh sanctions, such as Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging Russia's expulsion from the international payment system (SWIFT). He warned company officials about sanctions on the Russian economy and called for solidarity between the government and companies.
President Putin mentioned, "These sanctions will occur for political reasons."
U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a national address at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time to announce additional sanctions against Russia. The speech was originally scheduled for 12:00 p.m. but has been postponed to 12:30 p.m. and then 1:30 p.m.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed economic sanctions to completely exclude Russian banks from the UK financial system during a parliamentary speech.
Meanwhile, President Putin announced on the previous night the start of a special military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Immediately afterward, missile strikes were launched on airports near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and major cities, and Russian troops stationed in Belarus in northern Ukraine crossed the border and advanced into Ukraine.
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