Biden pledges support for Ukraine during Zelenskyy call amid Russia’s attempted annexation

President Joe Biden, during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reiterated on Tuesday the United States’ support for Ukraine amid Russia’s attempted annexation of its territory.

“President Biden also affirmed the continued readiness of the United States to impose severe costs on any individual, entity, or country that provides support to Russia’s purported annexation,” the White House said in a readout of the call, which Vice President Kamala Harris also participated in.

The phone call between the leaders comes just a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest escalation of the war in Ukraine, when he announced four Ukrainian provinces would become Russian territory based on government-held sham referendums. Biden strongly condemned Putin’s move on Friday, just hours after the announcement, while also unveiling new sanctions on individuals and entities both inside and outside of Russia who provide political or economic support to the annexation attempt.

The Treasury, State and Commerce departments on Fridayunleashed a raft of new sanctions to block the American assets of top Russian officials following Putin’s announcement. The measures join the slew of sanctions that the U.S. has already levied on Russia since it invaded Ukraine in an attempt to stymie its funding of the war.

Biden said during his call with Zelenskyy on Tuesday that the U.S. would never recognize Russia’s “purported annexation” of Ukraine’s territories, and pledged to continue supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression “for as long as it takes.” He also announced a new $625 million security assistance package to provide Ukraine with additional weapons and equipment, including HIMARS rocket launchers, artillery systems and ammunition, and armored vehicles.

Biden’s reiterated support for Ukraine also comes amid continued threats from Putin of turning to nuclear warfare in defense of his nation. The Russian president said during his speech announcing the annexations on Friday that he would consider the use of “all available means” to protect Russia in the war.

But the U.S. in recent days has maintained that it has seen no signs yet that Putin has decided to turn to nuclear weapons. John Kirby, the National Security Council’s strategic communications coordinator, said on Tuesday that while the U.S. is monitoring Putin’s nuclear capabilities “as best we can,” there hasn’t been any indication that he has made the decision to use weapons of mass destruction.

“We certainly have seen nothing that would give us pause to change our own strategic deterrent posture or ability to defend our allies and partners on the European continent,” Kirby said on MSNBC.