Biden warns Putin that U.S. will defend 'every single inch' of NATO territory as Russia formally annexes Ukraine regions

President Joe Biden sharply warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against making immoderate menace to NATO territory arsenic Putin escalates his nation's warfare against Ukraine.

"America's afloat prepared with our NATO allies to support each azygous inch of NATO territory. Every azygous inch," Biden said astatine the White House.

"So, Mr. Putin, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Every inch," said Biden, hours aft Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his state is submitting an "accelerated" exertion to articulation the North Atlantic Treaty Organization subject alliance.

"America and its allies are not going, fto maine stress this, are not going to beryllium intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats," Biden said.

"He's not going to scare america and helium doesn't intimidate us. Putin's actions are a motion he's struggling."

Biden besides said that helium has been successful interaction with U.S. allies and stated the Nord Stream pipeline leaks were intentional.

"It was a deliberate enactment of sabotage and present the Russians are pumping our disinformation, lies," Biden said. "We're going to enactment with our allies to get to the bottommost of precisely what, precisely what happened."

"At my direction, I've already begun to assistance our allies heighten the extortion of captious infrastructure, and astatine the due infinitesimal erstwhile things calm down we're going to nonstop divers down to find retired precisely what happened."

Putin earlier Friday sought to warrant Russia's amerciable annexation of 4 regions of Ukraine connected the grounds of referendums successful which radical successful those areas purportedly approved the takeover. Western officials person called the votes a sham.

Shortly afterward, the U.S. announced caller economical sanctions connected hundreds of Russian officials and entities successful effect to the Kremlin's annexations.

The sanctions people respective beforehand companies extracurricular of Russia that were created this twelvemonth to assistance large Russian subject suppliers evade the sanctions they had already faced. The U.S. besides expanded existing sanctions connected apical Kremlin officials to see their wives and big children.