U.S. escalates sanctions on Russia

World Today

The United States is stepping up sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. A new raft of measures just announced by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House targets banks, energy and defense companies. The move comes as the U.S and the West say Russia is continuing its support of rebels in Ukraine’s east and south. CCTV’s Nathan King has more.

U.S. escalates sanctions on Russia

The United States is stepping up sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. A new raft of measures- just announced by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House - targets banks, energy and defense companies. The move comes as the U.S and the West say Russia is continuing its support of rebels in Ukraine's east and south. CCTV's Nathan King has more.

The penalties announced by the White House were broad in scope, targeting two major Russian energy firms, a pair of powerful financial institutions, eight arms firms and four individuals. Leaders in Europe, which has a far deeper economic relationship with Russia than the U.S., were more restrained, ordering investment and development banks on the continent to suspend financing agreements with Moscow.

Even the U.S. penalties stopped short of the most stringent actions the West has threatened, which would entail fully cutting off key sectors of Russia’s economy. But officials said those steps were still on the table if Russia fails to abide by the West’s demands to stop support for pro-Russian insurgents who have destabilized swaths of eastern Ukraine.