President Joe Biden has vowed to “defend every inch of territory” of NATO partners with the full force of the US military should Vladimir Putin encroach further west.
In his first major speech to a joint session of congress this year, Mr Biden said US troops will “not engage in the conflict” with Russia in Ukraine.
The President sent a dire warning to the Russian "dictator" as well as the oligarchs who have made billions of dollars out of Mr Putin's regime.
“Our force is not going to Europe to fight Ukraine but to defend our NATO allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west,” he said.
“For that purpose, we have mobilised American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
“The United States and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power. Every single inch.”
Mr Biden outlined the grave effects war in Europe will have on the world.
“When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos,” Mr Biden said.
“They keep moving and the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising.
“That’s why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II.”
The United States and NATO allies followed the Ukrainian invasion with a series of swift and severe sanctions against Russia, but have so far ruled out military action.
Mr Biden said the alliance and “American diplomacy matters” as he unleashed on his Russian counterpart and the brutal invasion.
“Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked,” Mr Biden said.
“He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home.
“Putin was wrong, We were ready.”
Russian billionaires have been targeted by international sanctions, but the UK and US have been criticised for not putting greater pressure on the country’s oligarchs.
Mr Biden announced a comprehensive and coordinated attack on Mr Putin’s closest billionaire allies.
“Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime - no more,” the President continued.
He said the US Department of Justice would also form a dedicated task force to “go after the crimes of the Russian oligarchs” as well as closing off airspace to Russian jets.
“We're finding and seize their yachts and luxury apartments, their private jets,” Mr Biden continued.
“We're coming for you ill-begotten gains and tonight I'm announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding additional squeeze on their economy.
“Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been.”
The State of the Union comes hours after another round of attacks on Ukraine’s two largest cities.
Kyiv and Kharkiv suffered through a night of deadly assaults with civilian and administrative targets hit by Russian shelling.
Russian bombs were reported in Kyiv where a TV tower was destroyed killing several people, while thousands of residents were seen fleeing the city.
A security camera has captured the moment a Russian air missile struck a government building in Freedom Square in Kharkiv, killing at least ten people and injuring more than a dozen.
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