Russia will face heavy sanctions for the annexation of any new territories of Ukraine - White House

Karin Jean-Pierre, White House spokeswoman, reports during a briefing in Washington, Ukrinform quotes.

"We are ready to impose additional swift and severe economic consequences on Russia – along with our allies and partners – in response to these actions if they move forward with the annexation. We will continue to stand firmly with the people of Ukraine and provide them with "historic" amounts of defense assistance, to help them defend their territory, to help them defend their freedom," the message says.

Jean-Pierre reminded that the United States and other G7 member states issued a joint statement on Friday that they will never recognize Russia's claims to the sovereign territories of Ukraine, nor will they recognize any results of fake referendums.

According to her, during his speech at the UN this week, President Biden called these pseudo-referendums a brazen violation of international law, as well as a disregard for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underlie the UN Charter.

She also commented on the situation surrounding the mobilization campaign in Russia.

"What we see in Russia, especially in terms of protests, as well as how Russians are fleeing their country, means that this war is unpopular among the people," Karin Jean-Pierre said.

She also emphasized that Putin's current actions should be seen as a demonstration of weakness, not a strong position of his regime, and this is confirmed by the reaction of the people.