Biden announces sanctions on Russia after moves against Ukraine (Washington Post)

 Biden announces sanctions on Russia after moves against Ukraine (Washington Post)

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Biden: Putin ‘setting up a rationale to take more territory by force’

Russia announces withdrawal of diplomats from Ukraine

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President Biden speaks to reporters on the situation in Ukraine from the East Room of the White House on Feb. 22, 2022 in Washington, D.C. 

(Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post)

By Robyn Dixon, Rachel Pannett, Ellen Francis, John Wagner, Amy B Wang, Mariana Alfaro and Eugene Scott 

Today at 1:30 a.m. EST|Updated today at 3:04 p.m. EST

President Biden announced new sanctions on Russia on Tuesday after its moves against Ukraine, saying the actions amounted to a “flagrant violation of international law.”

In imposing economic penalties on Russia, the United States joins European allies in responding to Russia’s deployment of troops into two pro-Russian separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. Biden called Russia’s actions the “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Biden said a “first tranche” of U.S. sanctions against Russia would target two financial institutions, Russian sovereign debt and Russian elites and their family members.

“To put it simply, Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine,” Biden said. He added that he still hopes diplomacy is possible.

Here’s what to know

Russia’s upper house of parliament gave President Vladimir Putin permission to use military force outside the country, a move that further raised fears of a broader invasion.

In remarks Tuesday, Putin called on Ukraine to forget joining NATO and to accept that Crimea belongs to Russia. Putin said Kyiv’s best path forward is military neutrality.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would halt authorization of Nord Stream 2, the controversial natural gas pipeline between Germany and Russia, for the time being. The move was applauded by the United Nations and NATO allies and cited as part of a united response to Russia.

White House aides are reviewing how the United States could respond if Russia curtails exporting global oil products due to hostilities over Ukraine, potentially triggering a spike in gasoline prices.