Severe economic sanctions are the way to squeeze Russia into backing off in Ukraine, says Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN).

Russian forces are moving further into Ukraine today with a full-scale invasion being ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin early Thursday morning.

President Biden announced a new round of economic sanctions that the US and our NATO allies are rolling out on Russia this week. They include cutting off several banking institutions and freezing Russian assets in the United States.

They do not include cutting Russia off from the international banking communication organization SWIFT.

Braun told Tony Katz Today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando Thursday that President Biden must not hold back in putting the clamp on Russia’s economy.

“The Russian economy is only $1.7 trillion. Germany’s is $3.9 trillion. Ours is about $23 trillion,” Braun said. The EU’s would be about that. They (Russia) punch so far above their weight. We can get them with sanctions and it does not take risking troops.”

Braun said President Biden should take a page out of former President Reagan’s book and push to lower the price of American oil in order to try and price Russia out of the market. Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer behind OPEC.

It’s imperative that Biden show strength, Braun added, especially with the rest of the world looking on and an expectation that Putin might try to go beyond Ukraine.

“You’re go expect (Putin) to do this but, I think, make the same moves in other places,” Braun said. “And what does Xi (Chinese President Xi Xinping) think in China. He’s watching closely.”

Braun says it’s not likely that Congress will authorize the use of American forces to operate in Ukraine anytime soon and does not believe it will come to that. Still, Braun feels President Biden should have been more forceful with the military with American “military posturing” in the weeks leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.