It's becoming more and more difficult for Putin to fund Ukrainian war every single day, says WH
Washington(PTI): It is becoming more and more difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin to fund his war in Ukraine, the White House said Tuesday adding that more tough sanctions are to be announced on Wednesday.
What we are doing and we're already seeing effectively happen is the financial system in Russia is near the brink of collapse. I mean, they're projecting 15 per cent inflation, a contraction of 15 percent in their economy. Private sector businesses are pulling out of the country. It is more and more difficult for President Putin to fund this war every single day. That has an impact, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
But what we're also doing is providing a historic amount of military and security assistance, which is what they've been using effectively over the last few weeks to fight this war and push back the Russians, she said.
At the same time, Psaki reiterated that the United States is not calling for regime change.
That has not been our policy and continues not to be our policy. But again, our view is that he is a war criminal and he is somebody who should be looked at by the international system which evaluates war crimes, she said.
The White House is planning another set of sanctions on Russia. This is likely to be announced on Wednesday.
In coordination with the G-7 and the EU, an additional sweeping package of sanction measures that will impose costs on Russia, send it further down the road of economic, financial, and technological isolation, she said.
This will include a ban on all new investment in Russia and increased sanctions on financial institutions and state owned enterprises in Russia and sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members. These measures will degrade key instruments of Russian state power and pose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports Putin's war, she said.
The US is working to rally the world and taking steps to hold Russia accountable.
It does not mean they're identical. It doesn't mean they'll all happen on the exact same timeline. But that is what we're continuing to work to do from here, she said.
Responding to a question, Psaki said the US is coordinating with the G-7 and the EU, which is about 50 per cent of the global economy, which is still a significant unified entity in holding Russia accountable.
In our conversations, obviously, we had our Deputy National Security Advisor travel to India recently to convey the implementation of our own sanctions, she said when told that major countries like China, India and Brazil are not participating in the sanctions.
Our expectation is not only that other countries will abide by but that they will also be a constructive part of holding Russia accountable, she said.
Observing that Putin is a pariah, Psaki said that this has all been the result of a coordinated global effort to put in place economic and financial consequences that are having an incredible effect.
In addition, we have made it much more difficult because of export controls and other limitations on the type of materials that President Putin and the Russians can purchase to build the technological systems and capacities to fight wars in addition to funding wars. Those are all components that had been the result of the efforts to date, she said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
