Biden Warns Americans of ‘Pain’ at the Pump Due to Russian Sanctions

President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged that U.S. gas prices may keep rising due to his sanctions on Russian assets, saying that “defending freedom will have costs.

“As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well and here at home. We need to be honest about that,” Biden said at the White House. “But as we do this, I’m going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at [the] Russian economy, not ours,” he continued.

Since taking office last year, gas prices have steadily risen across the United States, reaching close to $5 per gallon in some areas. His critics have said that the price influx is, in part, because he shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline and wouldn’t renew drilling leases as the administration has pushed for electric vehicles.

The president said that he will try to come up with a plan to “limit the pain” that Americans feel at the pump after the sanctions against Russia, one of the world’s top producers of oil and natural gas. Russia is a major supplier of oil to the United States, capturing the No. 2 spot among foreign oil suppliers last year.

“We’re closely monitoring energy supplies for any disruption. We’re executing a plan in coordination with major oil-producing consumers and producers toward a collective investment to secure stability in global energy supplies,” Biden remarked Tuesday. “This will blunt gas prices.”