Update 11:45 a.m.: President Biden officially announced the U.S. would stop importing oil and natural gas from Russia because of Vladimir Putin’s Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“This means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable to U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to this war machine,” Biden said.
At a press conference that started around 11:25 this morning, the president claimed the new measure has bipartisan support in congress. He also touted the fact the U.S. has spent about $1 billion in aide to Ukraine as they fight off Russian aggression.
Biden added Americans will almost certainly feel pain at the pump with the new measure.
“With this action [the price is gas] is going to go up further,” Biden said.
The New York Times also reports Britain plans to phase out the import of Russian oil by the end of the year.
The average price of a gallon of gas just hit an all-time record high, and that number is about to get even higher — but for a good reason. According to the Associated Press, President Joe Biden has made the decision to ban the import of Russian oil to the U.S. in an effort to deal another strong blow to the country’s already-faltering economy.
Biden’s decision comes after pleas to the U.S. and other Western countries from Ukrainian President (and hero of the world) Volodmyr Zelenskyy. He asked world powers to cut off the import of oil from Russia, which was pretty much the last thing these countries were still bringing in following massive sanctions placed on the nation.
Sources tell the AP that Biden is set to make the announcement official as soon as today, likely around 10:45 a.m. ET. The White House also said Biden would be speaking this morning to announce “actions to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine.” It doesn’t take a genius to come to the conclusion the announcement of an oil ban will happen then.
The outlet says the U.S. will likely be acting alone but in close contact with European allies who are far more dependent on Russian energy supplies than America. Natural gas from Russia makes up about 33 percent of Europe’s total consumption of fossil fuel. A nice little bonus: The U.S. doesn’t import any natural gas from Russia.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has had widespread impacts throughout the world. Neon, a regular import from Ukraine, is necessary to build the microchips that have already been in short supply. Auto companies around the world have suspended production in or supply of vehicles to Russia. And we’re likely to continue seeing similar impacts as the fighting continues.