White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put on alert deterrence forces that include nuclear weapons, noting that such threats have been a consistent pattern of the Russian leader. and emphasized that the United States has the ability to defend itself.

“We’ve seen him do this over and over again. At no time has Russia been under threat from NATO. nor has Russia been under threat from Ukraine,” Psaki said on ABC’s This Week.

He added that the United States has the ability to defend itself, so he will continue to denounce Putin’s actions.

All this is a pattern of President Putin and we are going to face it. We have the ability to defend ourselves, but we must also speak out against what we are seeing about President Putin,” he added.

Psaki added that the United States remains ready to provide more assistance to Ukraine and although he did not mention it, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported this morning on more humanitarian aid for the country governed by Volodymyr Zelensky.

Psaki focused on possible closures to Russia’s energy supply to Europe, something that remains on the table, given that altogether 40% of its natural gas comes from the Russians.

“We want to do it [close the supply, but] make sure we minimize the impact on the global market and do it in a united way,” Psaki said.

A third war?

President Joe Biden has not considered the option of a war against Russia, even remarking that the troops sent to Europe will not fight the Russians directly.

In an interview with Bryan Tyler, the president stated that he had two options, including starting a third world war.

“Look, you have two options: start a third world war, go to war with Russia, physically; or two, make sure that the country that acts so contrary to international law ends up paying a price for doing so,” said Biden, who defended economic sanctions on the Russians.

President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to send a delegation to the border with Belarus to negotiate with the Russian government.

$54 million in additional aid

Secretary Blinken reported on the shipment of $54 million dollars of additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine, divided into two parts: $26 million from the State Department and $28 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Biden Administration recalled that since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014 with the first invasion, the United States has sent almost $405 million to vulnerable communities in Ukraine.

The funds will go to humanitarian organizations that deploy aid personnel in Ukraine.

“This includes the distribution of food, drinking water, shelter, emergency medical care, winterization and protection,” it said.

Efforts will also seek to keep families together or reunite those due to displacement.

USAID reconfirmed the transfer of funds and added that it is expected to immediately help some 125,000 people, as well as 18,500 more who have been displaced from their homes and people with disabilities.