US imposes new sanctions on Russia as Putin recognises breakaway Ukraine regions
The order also provides authority to impose sanctions on “any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine,” Psaki said, adding the administration will later “announce additional measures related to today's blatant violation of Russia's international commitments.”
FollowIn response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine, US President Biden signed an executive order Monday levying a number of sanctions on the region.
The order bars “new investment, trade and financing by U.S. persons to, from, or in” the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, located in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
The order also provides authority to impose sanctions on “any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine,” Psaki said, adding the administration will later “announce additional measures related to today's blatant violation of Russia's international commitments.”
“To be clear: these measures are separate from and would be in addition to the swift and severe economic measures we have been preparing in coordination with Allies and partners should Russia further invade Ukraine,” she said.
The United States and other Western allies are condemning Putin's move as a violation of pro-Western Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The Kremlin has for weeks denied plans to attack Ukraine, while at the same time building up an enormous force of troops and heavy weaponry on three sides of the country.
The United States and its multiple Western allies warn that a full Russian invasion of Ukraine would prompt crippling economic sanctions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US calls for Americans to depart Ukraine immediately, adding that the security situation remains unpredictable and may deteriorate with little notice.
He is slated to meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday at the State Department.
The nation’s top diplomat had previously agreed to a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week. A senior Biden administration official declined Monday night to say if the meeting was still scheduled and referred questions on the matter to the State Department.
Russia has amassed roughly 190,000 forces near the Ukrainian border, and Biden on Friday said he is “convinced” Putin has decided to invade. Top Biden administration officials, though, have been pushing Moscow to pursue a diplomatic route rather than war.
