President Joe Biden on Thursday said the US would impose a second, harsher round of sanctions on Russia following its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Biden announced the authorization of "additional strong sanctions" and "new limitations" on what could be exported to Russia.
"We have purposely designed these sanctions to maximize the long-term impact on Russia and minimize the impact on the United States and our allies," Biden said.
Building on previous economic penalties imposed by the US, the sanctions target four major banks in Russia and Russian elites. "Every asset they have in America will be frozen," Biden said.
Biden said the US's new sanctions would apply restrictions on Russia's largest state-owned enterprises, which control more than $1.4 trillion in assets.
"We will limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, and yen to be part of the global economy," the president said of the sanctions. "We're going to stop the ability to finance and grow the Russian military. We're going to impair their ability to compete in a high-tech 21st-century economy."
He added: "Between our actions and those of our allies and partners, we estimate that we will cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports."
The US president also warned of the dire implications of Russia's actions, saying "this is a dangerous moment for all of Europe" and the world at large. To that end, Biden said the US would deploy additional troops to bolster NATO's so-called eastern flank amid the looming threat of Russian aggression beyond its invasion of Ukraine.
The president's remarks came after he met with G7 members to coordinate a more severe response after Russian troops moved in on Ukraine from its northern, eastern, and southern borders, advancing by land, air, and sea.
An estimated number of more than 150,000 Russian troops amassed around Ukraine's borders over the past several months — one of the largest troop buildups since World War II — and launched a massive offensive on several Ukrainian cities using troops, artillery, tanks and other vehicles on Thursday.
