Facing protests at home and diminished forces in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin moved to bolster his military and crack down on dissent.
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US warns of “catastrophic” consequences if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine
From CNN's Sam Fossum and Priscilla Alvarez
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily news briefing on September 20, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan promised Sunday that there would be "catastrophic" consequences if Russia used a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and said the US will enact further economic sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin completes its "sham" referenda.
On further consequences against Russia for the
referenda in occupied Ukrainian territories, Sullivan pointed to the G7 leaders’ statement from Friday and said there will be more announcements from the US in the days ahead.
"They reiterated that there would be consequences and specified that that would include additional enhanced sanctions, including sanctions on entities and companies outside of Russia that are supporting the Russian war machine or supporting these fake referenda or Russia's efforts," Sullivan said.
In an interview on ABC “This Week”, Sullivan also said the US is planning “for every contingency.”
Asked about ongoing protests in Russia, Sullivan said the US is focused on continuing to support Ukraine: “The future of Russia is for the Russian people to decide."
1 hr 58 min ago
UK PM: Russian military escalation and "bogus threats" show Putin has been "outsmarted"
From CNN's Sana Noor Haq
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss speaks with CNN’s Jake Tapper. (CNN)
Vladimir Putin’s announcement of
increased military conscription to bolster Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine shows the Russian President “has been outsmarted” by Kyiv, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss told CNN in an exclusive interview.
The new British leader, who takes power at a time of historic upheaval, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that Putin had ordered an immediate military escalation “because he isn’t winning.”
“He made a strategic mistake, invading Ukraine,” Truss said in her first interview with a US network, which aired Sunday.
“I think he has been outsmarted by the Ukrainians. We’ve seen the Ukrainians continue to push back against the Russian offensive. And I think he didn’t anticipate the strength of reaction from the free world.”
Truss, who faces perhaps the biggest set of challenges of any incoming British prime minister since Winston Churchill, met with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
In a subsequent interview at 10 Downing Street, she told CNN that Washington “is an incredibly close partner” but did not roll back controversial comments she made last year, while UK Foreign Secretary, in which she described the US-UK relationship as “special but not exclusive.”
When asked how Western leaders should respond if Putin ramps up military activity in Ukraine, Truss said they “should not be listening to his saber-rattling and his bogus threats.”
“Instead, what we need to do is continue to put sanctions on Russia and continue to support the Ukrainians.”
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