President Biden on Monday barred Americans from doing business in two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine and a US official said more sanctions are coming Tuesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the areas as independent.
Putin lamented the Soviet Union’s collapse as he recognized the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic in rambling remarks feared to be a prelude to a large-scale war.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that the US had “anticipated a move like this from Russia and are ready to respond immediately.”
In addition to preventing Americans from performing “investment, trade, and financing” in the two territories, an executive order from Biden gives the Treasury Department “authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine,” Psaki said.
The statement did not cite the current amount of US investment in the war-torn breakaway republics. It is likely small due to low-intensity fighting that began in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Psaki added that the White House would soon announce “additional measures related to today’s blatant violation of Russia’s international commitments” and said the steps announced Monday were separate from the “swift and severe” sanctions promised if Russian forces “further invade Ukraine.”
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