Sanctions against Russia show united front against unjust invasion of Ukraine: US official

WASHINGTON -- The sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, including South Korea, show how many countries see Russia's invasion of Ukraine as unjust, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday.

Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, said the United Nations has also voiced its clear opposition against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The international community has been very clear and we've been united in our defense of this war, of the senseless war in Ukraine," Jalina said in a telephonic press briefing.

The department spokesperson was responding to a question on what the US thought about a recent warning from Russia's ambassador to South Korea, Andrey Kulik, that countries taking part in sanctions against Russia will risk considerable damage to their bilateral ties with Moscow.

Jalina declined to comment directly on Kulik's remarks, but insisted the number of countries that have voiced their opposition to the Russian aggression at the UN General Assembly spoke for itself.

"I think that was obvious in the UN General Assembly vote just yesterday, where over 141 members voted in support of making sure that we know that Putin's actions were wrong and that this war was unjust and premeditated, and I think that stands alone for itself," she added, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Seoul has halted financial transactions with seven major Russian banks, while it is also implementing export controls on shipments of strategic materials to Russia.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier welcomed Seoul's decision to impose sanctions on Russia in a rare statement praising actions by a foreign country.

"The ROK's announcement of economic actions against Russia will help defend the freedom, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of Ukraine and illustrates the ROK's commitment to preserving the rules-based international order," Blinken said in a statement released Wednesday, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)