Political | Process

In a statement on Thursday, the White House said the Biden administration also would provide more than $1bn in humanitarian assistance, as well as $320m to bolster democracy and human rights in Ukraine and neighboring nations.

The humanitarian aid will go towards food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other assistance, the statement said.

Many of the Ukrainian refugees will be admitted under US law providing for “humanitarian parole”, an avenue used to bring in thousands of Afghans following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

Thursday’s announcement coincided with US President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe, where he joined emergency meetings with European, NATO and Group of Seven (G7) leaders in Brussels to coordinate the Western response to the crisis.

The Biden administration also announced fresh sanctions on several “elites” close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was committed “to ensuring Russia pays a severe economic and diplomatic price for its further invasion of Ukraine”.

The US and its allies in Europe have imposed a series of sweeping curbs on Russia since the country launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine late last month, targeting the profitable Russian oil-and-gas sector, as well as government officials and wealthy backers of Putin.