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The White House was blasted on social media Thursday after Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh said that the sanctions levied against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine are “not designed to disrupt” Russia’s energy exports.
“Our sanctions are not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world,” Singh said during a Thursday press conference while outlining the latest sanctions against Russia in response to its recent invasion of Ukraine.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 24: Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh
((Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images))
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Singh later reiterated the comment saying that “our measures were not designed to disrupt in any way the current flow of energy from Russia to the world.”
Singh added that the sanctions are meant to degrade Russia’s “long term” energy capacity but nothing in the “short term.”
The comment was immediately met with criticism on Twitter from users who believe that cracking down on Russia’s oil exports is the most meaningful way to punish the country for its military actions.
Ukrainian servicemen sit atop armored personnel carriers driving on a road in the Donetsk region
(AP)
“Then they aren’t much in the way of sanctions,” Reporter Stephen Gutowski tweeted.
“Then what’s the point?” Ricochet Editor-in-Chief Jon Gabriel tweeted.
“Eight seconds that will live in infamy,” Former CIA ops officer Bryan Dean Wright tweeted.
“Not a serious administration,” Spectator Editor Stephen L. Miller tweeted.
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Russia’s main export is energy resources and the country provides Europe with roughly 40% of its natural gas.
Ukrainian servicemen are seen next to a destroyed armored vehicle, which they said belongs to the Russian army, outside Kharkiv, Ukraine February 24, 2022.
(REUTERS/Maksim Levin )
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
Biden announced robust new sanctions on Thursday and ordered the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany while declaring that America would stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Targeting Russia’s financial system, Biden said, the United States will block assets of large Russian banks, impose export controls aimed at the nation’s high-tech needs and sanction its business oligarchs.
Associated Press contributed to this report
