(CNN) — Vice President Kamala Harris promised this Saturday that there would be a “swift, severe and united” response if Russia invades Ukraine, in a speech highly anticipated in security conference from Munich in Germany.
Harris laid out retaliatory measures consistent with her previous career as a prosecutor, promising “significant and unprecedented” economic costs.
“We will impose far-reaching financial sanctions and export controls. We will target Russia’s financial institutions and key industries,” he said. He added: “Make no mistake: the imposition of these radical and coordinated measures will inflict great harm on those who must be held accountable.”
With the brewing conflict between Russia and Ukraine reaching a boiling point, Harris took center stage this Saturday morning in front of a large international audience when she delivered the keynote address at the security conference.
“Not since the end of the Cold War has this forum met under such dire circumstances,” Harris said. “Today, as we all know, the basis of European security is under direct threat in Ukraine.”
The comments came at a high-stakes moment after repeated warnings by the United States on Friday about Russia’s efforts to stage an invasion.
Harris emphasized that the US maintains an “uncompromising” commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which says that if any NATO member is attacked, all other members of the alliance will consider it an attack against NATO. all members and will take swift action to retaliate.
“We will not stop with economic measures,” Harris said. “We will further reinforce our NATO allies on the eastern flank.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 19. (Thomas Kienzle/AFP/Getty Images)
The vice president’s emphasis on Russia-Ukraine tensions follows several US efforts this Friday to publicize Russia’s aggressive actions in the region and try to prevent Russia from invading Ukraine under the guise of false pretenses.
Biden’s rhetorical shift
President Joe Biden said he is now convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin made the decision to invade Ukraine, adding that the United States believes Russian forces intend to attack Ukraine “within the next week” or sooner and that an attack will target the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
It was a major rhetorical shift for the president, who had previously indicated he believed Putin had not yet made up his mind about an invasion. Still, Biden emphasized Friday that there was room for diplomacy.
A senior administration official told reporters ahead of Harris’s comments that he would make it clear the United States would be ready for any outcome.
“We have been putting the world on notice of what we fear and are seeing from the Russians, these provocations, which we fear they may use as a pretext to invade Ukraine and in the last few hours or days, unfortunately, we have seen some of those,” the official said. .
Russian misinformation is becoming a false justification for Putin to order an invasion, Biden said, accusing Russia of ceasefire violations in the “rapidly escalating crisis.”
The White House on Friday also blamed Russia for a massive cyberattack in Ukraine earlier in the week and warned that Russia could face extensive sanctions if it invades Ukraine, with Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economics and deputy director of the Council. National Economic. , calling them “the most severe measures we have ever contemplated against Russia.”
The official said Harris still plans to meet after the speech with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and will also hold some informal meetings with other leaders.
Allie Malloy, Maegan Vazquez, and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.