U.S. President Biden on Tuesday ordered to cut off Russia’s access to international financing and impose blocking sanctions on two banks as part of the first tranche of sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Voice of America reported Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of more troops across the eastern Ukraine border and then declared the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent, actions which Biden said marked the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “a flagrant violation of international law.”
The U.S. government’s measures imposed on Vnesheconombank and Promsvyazbank – Russian banks that hold over $80 billion in assets and fund Russia’s military and economic development – include freezing their assets in the U.S. and prohibiting U.S. companies and individuals from doing business with them, according to a White House fact sheet published Tuesday.
The first tranche also includes expanded sovereign debt prohibitions and sanctions on five Russian elites and their family members.
Biden said he ordered the deployment of additional air support and infantry troops to the Baltics to “send an unmistakable message that the United States, together with our allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory.”