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The long-anticipated full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is underway.

President Biden has said that U.S. troops won’t deploy to help Ukraine defend their country. But it is hoped that the aid given to Ukraine by the U.S. over the last 5 to 7 years may be helpful.

Some of the aid was provided in the form of over $2.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine since 2014, according to the State Department. The aid was, “to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO.”

The support has included enhanced intelligence sharing between the CIA, the National Security Agency, and Ukrainian spy agencies. And enhanced cybersecurity coordination which was recently tested in the mid-February cyber-attack.

Sanctions on Russia begin again

One of President Biden’s first acts as president was to remove the sanctions placed on Russia by the Trump administration. Then the world watched as the withdrawal from Afghanistan looked more like a surrender. 

And for the last 90 days, there has been a largely ineffective war of words with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the meantime, Putin was very publicly massing troops surrounding the Ukraine.

Biden announced new sanctions against Russia on Saturday.

“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said as he announced a new set of sanctions that will “impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time.”

The new measures include export blocks on technology. Biden has said that this approach will “severely limit Russia’s ability to advance its military and aerospace sector”. He also applied sanctions on Russian banks and “corrupt billionaires” and their families who have close ties to the Kremlin.

US and EU sanctions on Russia have started, as well. With 1 major Russian bank being taken offline. And the US is threatening to disrupt the Russian banking system by cutting other banks from doing international banking.

Russian invasion becomes a shooting war

In the midst of escalating Ukraine-Russia tensions U.S. government efforts have increased military aid to Ukraine.

During the presidency of Barack Obama, the U.S.-based program provided advanced military training to elite Ukrainian military and special operations units. 

This effort was later augmented by then-President Donald Trump. And has also increased in size during the Biden administration, according to former officials. 

Since Russia’s 2014 military incursion in Crimea, the U.S. and Ukraine have increased joint intelligence sharing regarding Russia’s military activities. And Russian movements within the region are being tracked according to former U.S. intelligence officials.

US advisers were on the frontlines in Ukraine for years. The operation is part of a secret program that began in 2015 and has sent agency advisors of the paramilitaries into eastern Ukraine. The advisors were recently evacuated by the Pentagon.

The Ukrainian military expects an attack in the Luhansk region. And anticipate that the Russian military will seek to occupy the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

The Ukrainian government is still in charge in Mariupol. But it has already come under attack. 

Russia is claiming the city as the new Ukraine capital. And Mariupol is Ukraine's primary port, which is strategically located on the Sea of Azov.

This is a developing story. The latest news released by the Pentagon is that thousands of additional troops are being deployed. Many of both the NATO and US personnel are being shifted to Germany. 

And Joe Biden is claiming that America will stand up to Putin. He’s going to test the resolve of the West to see if we stay together. And we will.”