President Joe Biden said the U.S. would impose a first wave of sanctions on Russia and is shifting American forces already based in Europe, and a meeting between the top U.S. and Russian diplomats was canceled. Biden’s announcement followed earlier sanctions after the European Union and the U.K. set out an initial set of limited penalties targeting Moscow.
The measures follow a dramatic escalation of tensions triggered by President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, a move that effectively killed eight years of diplomacy. Russia’s upper house on Tuesday gave the green light to Putin to deploy troops to the separatist-held regions.
