UK sanctions five Russian banks, predicts ‘pariah status’ for Putin if he takes further action on Ukraine

The White House will impose additional sanctions on Russia in the coming hours, a senior Biden national security official said Tuesday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized two pro-Moscow territories in Ukraine.

“The United States will be making its own important announcements later today, including sanctions that we will impose in response to what Russia did yesterday,” Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said during the interview. of an appearance on MSNBC.

He also gave a bit more detail on further sanctions announcements to come later on Tuesday, suggesting it could end before the tough sanctions announced by the US, pending “further action” from Russia. .

“If Russia takes further action, we will have other significant and serious consequences that we can impose through sanctions on Russia, in addition to the other elements of our response, including assistance to the security of Ukrainians to help them defend themselves, and the force posture, troop movements that you saw the United States taking, in the coming days,” Finer said, adding that the United States remains open to diplomacy. .

For the time being, we are not expecting a whole panoply of sanctions against Russia because “if you want to deter [Putin] to take Kyiv and the country – always a serious probability – you have to hold threats of sanctions against that,” a senior administration official told CNN.

However, the sanctions announced today should still go further than the limited package, the White House announced on Monday.

A senior US official told CNN the cautious nature of Monday’s package was due, in part, to the need to consult with the Europeans on their willingness to go further and assess whether Russia’s actions on Monday should trigger the comprehensive sanctions package the West has prepared in the event of an invasion.

U.S. and European officials have been in intense discussions over the past few hours about how to proceed with additional sanctions against Russia for ordering troops into Ukraine, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The European Commission also proposed sanctions on EU member states on Tuesday. The proposals will impose sanctions on 27 people and entities, including politicians, propagandists, military personnel and financial entities that the EU considers linked to “illegal activities” in the regions. There will also be sanctions for the 351 Russian lawmakers who voted for recognition and the 11 who proposed it – and the installation of Russian troops.

The Commission placed particular emphasis which would reflect the sanctions taken in Crimea after the 2014 annexation by Moscow.